


Back in Dillon for senior year

by NatBBfan



Category: Friday Night Lights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 04:12:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 109,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19201654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatBBfan/pseuds/NatBBfan
Summary: Complete AU for season 3. María is Mac McGill's only daughter and comes back home for her senior year in High School after being away on a golf scholarship for the last three years. Who could help her readjusting? And who could she help in return?





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

María McGill was thrilled to be back in Dillon after spending her three previous high school years in Florida, on a golf scholarship. The only daughter of Mac McGill, the offensive coordinator for the Dillon Panthers, and his wife Sue, she had a promising future as a golf player ahead of her. At least that was what all her teachers and coaches said. She had started playing at an early age. Her grandfather, just retired from the Army then, used to take her to the driving range with him almost every afternoon after preschool. She was not the only kid around, just the only girl; most regulars and even the range employees´ brought their boys with them, and she really enjoyed her time there. She soon preferred golf clubs to dolls, resulting in becoming the best juvenile golf player in Carr County, much to the delight of her granddad.

She was a complete tomboy growing-up. Tall for her age, with long fair hair always tied up in a ponytail and green eyes, it was difficult to see her clad in a dress or skirt, no matter how hard her mother tried to convince her. Her closest friends were all boys that shared golf classes, tee hours and lazy summer days with her at the range or the course. They called themselves "The great five" and the five of them were as thick as thieves. She found it really hard to find any common ground with the girls that were in her class at school. She liked golf, football and cars, and most of her classmate´s conversations focused on anything but that. And this gap only grew wider over the years when suddenly boys became her girlfriends´ favorite topic.

And then a great opportunity had arisen when she was on her last year of middle school. A straight A student, she had been shortlisted for a golf scholarship at GMI Academy, a boarding school and sport training center in Florida that offered an integrated academic and athletic college preparatory experience across sports. She was over the moon. However, it also meant that she would be living 1.500 miles away from home, and she started having second thoughts about it with the final date for applying approaching. But her family encouraged her, telling her they would support her no matter what she decided, and her golf buddies did the same (they all wished they were in her shoes), and she finally left for Florida on a rainy day in August, with a proud Mac driving a packed car and waving good-bye to Sue until they turned into the main street on their way to I-20 E.

She had really enjoyed boarding school, it had been a great experience and she knew she was going to miss her friends, but at seventeen she longed for home life. Lately she was finding it hard to be so far away from home, coming over just on long school breaks and not being in her parents´ day to day life. And college was almost there, too. So when she arrived home for her senior year, again with Mac driving an even more packed car, she felt like if it was a turning point in her life and she was about to start a completely new page.

Her family was not the only thing that she was missing from Dillon while in Florida. Jack Byrne was one of her lifelong golf buddies and the current Westerby Mustangs QB1, and they had started dating the summer before. She had stayed in touch with most of her golf friends by mail, phone calls and occasional reunions on school breaks, but when they saw each other that summer it was like they were meeting for the first time. They spend a lot of time together at the range, the pool, the lake, both their homes (Mac and Sue knew him since he was a baby); time seemed to flying by and when it was time to go back to Florida, María suddenly realized she wanted to stay home, not only for her parents, but for Jack too. During the last year they had faced distance the best they could. It was hard to be in a relationship being so far away, especially when it was the first one for both of them and all these feelings were brand new, but they really liked each other and they had made it work though those long months.

"Mrs. Taylor, Tami, Eric´s wife, just called a few minutes ago asking if you were already home. She wants to see you before school starts. I think she wants to go over your file at GMI Academy with you and, well, you know, try to make things easier for you being new to Dillon High School on your senior year since most of your friends have already graduated and Jack attends Westerby High School…", her mother said while they were having dinner that evening.

"Thank you Mom, I will call her tomorrow. I am sure she will be a great help. But please don´t worry, I am going to be fine. I know that Jack is in Westerby, and Miles and Alan will be leaving for college soon, but I still have friends in Dillon High School", she quickly replied. She did not want to worry her parents.

"Who? Sam, who is now two grades behind you so you will hardly see him? Tim, who you haven´t seen or heard from for the last two years? Laura, Brittany and Sally, from middle school, who you wouldn´t consider your friends even back then?" both Mac and Sue thought. But they just smiled to their daughter and Mac said: "We are your parents, María, it is our job to worry. We know this is not your first rodeo. I bet you were homesick when you first arrived at GMI although you were telling us that you were fine. But please do call Mrs. Taylor. She is very good at her job and, well, she is married to my boss, you know…".

"Will do, Dad", she said. She had great expectations for her senior year. She was finally home, and she was going to enjoy it, with or without friends at school.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

"Well, María, we are so glad to have you home for your senior year. I am sure you are gonna be a great addition to Dillon High School", Tami Taylor said from behind her desk.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Taylor", María said politely. She had called the school guidance counselor the day before and they had agreed on meeting today at school, in Mrs. Taylor's small office. It was a hot day, Jack had given her a ride and was currently waiting for her in the parking lot. They intended to spend the rest of the afternoon at the lake.

"You´re welcome, María. I have to tell you that I am really impressed by your file. All your grades, merits... this is something we don't see around here very often".

Her file was wide open on Tami's desk. She could see most of its contents from where she was sitting across her: her grades, her certificates, her sports reports, letters of recommendation from GMI, information packets, applications and letters of interest from colleges all over the country...

"And what can I say about the colleges that are interested in having you"... Letters from UT, ASU, ISU, Oklahoma, Stanford, ... could be found amongst all the papers in her file. "You must be really thrilled about all that!"

"I am, Mrs. Taylor, and more than anything, I am thankful and honored to even have the opportunity to be considered by those schools. But, to be honest, I don't want to think about college yet. I came back home because I missed my family and my life here and I want to enjoy that as much as possible while I can. I am realistic though and I know that college will become my number one priority very soon. I will be ready to face it then".

Tami looked at her amazed. She knew it was completely unprofessional, but she wanted to reach her around the table, hug her and tell her "Well done, that's my girl". She wished her daughter Julie would be a little bit like María in that regard. Instead, she put on what her husband Eric called her counseling face and just said: "That is great and very wise of you. We will be pleased to provide you letters of recommendation. In the meantime, I think we can work a little bit on your resume so that you have it ready when the time comes. I see that you played soccer besides golf at GMI".

"Yes, Mrs. Taylor. At least two sports were mandatory and I chose soccer, as girls were not allowed to play football".

"I see. I know that you really like football. Your dad was so proud when you would be part of the group of children playing outside church on Sunday mornings... But I see that you are really good at soccer, and that makes me think that perhaps you would like to join the female Panthers soccer team. Our former captain, Shannon Smith, I think you know her from middle school, just moved out to San Antonio with her family and the spot is open for you if you want it".

María smiled at Tami. She loved soccer but she did not want to disregard golf, and she wanted some time with her family and Jack, that was what she had left Florida for in the first place.

As she saw the hesitation in her face, Tami went on: "I don't only suggest it for the sport itself. It can be an easy way to socialize and make new friends, I know most of your all friends are not here or will not be in your classes"...

Great, her parents had been talking to the Taylors about her and her lack of friends at school. No escape here then.

"I would really like to be part of the Panthers, Mrs. Taylor. Thank you for thinking about me for the captain position, but I would prefer if that would be settled once the practice has begun and everyone in the team agrees on it. In the meanwhile I would be honored to join the team as a plain player. I don't want to impose myself".

"Wow, and she is sensible and humble, too", Tami could not help thinking.

"Oh, I find that is very clever of you, María. One last thing, have you thought about tutoring? I can see that you did it at GMI with a great outcome, and some of our senior students could really use the help to try and improve their grades to be able to make it to college".

"Was she going to have any spare time at all?" It would sound very impolite if she said no to tutoring. And she really liked it.

"I would be happy to help and give something back, Mrs. Taylor", she heard herself saying.

"Well, I think that´ll be all for today. Now we can work on your class schedule".

"Thank you very much for everything, Mrs. Taylor. There is something I would like to ask you, if you have time now". Tami had started gathering all the papers in the file and suddenly seemed to be in a hurry.

"Of course, María. Go ahead. What is it?"

"Well, I´m afraid I´m going to have a tight schedule with classes, soccer, tutoring and golf, and I was just wondering if it would be Ok if I could go to the golf range at lunch time. You know, I wouldn´t go to the cafeteria and I´d be right back for the first class after lunch. I am sure my parents could give me a round ride, and I would not be late. I think that it would really help me".

"Oh, she was a clever girl indeed. How could she say no to that when that girl had agreed to everything she had asked?"

"Of course, María. You can count on that".

Well, at least she would be avoiding lunch at the cafeteria, she thought while they were walking down the empty corridor toward the exit doors.

They came out to the sunlight and they found Eric and Jack deeply engaged in a football conversation. They were leaning on Eric's Explorer and Jack was trying to explain him a play he had seen on TV the week before. Some things never change, Tami and María thought.

After greeting everyone, Jack and María walked to his truck, and Eric and Tami got in their car. "How did it go?" Eric asked. He knew Tami had great expectations set on María and he was really curious. Eric could not understand why she was back in Dillon just for her senior year. The fact that she was dating Westerby's starting quarterback only added more curiosity to the equation.

"Very, very well. This girl is a rising star, Eric, I hope we had had her here for the last years, too. She is brilliant, humble and generous. I wish we had more students like her. I even asked her about tutoring and she agreed".

"Well, if she is so good please keep my players in mind for the tutoring assignments. Some of them could really use the help...".

"I know, I know, I already have some names in mind. And she is so focused for her age..."

"Well, Byrne said they were heading for the lake to spend the rest of the day. I don't know if that falls into the "focused" category. We all know that teenager boys only think about one thing, and they are going to the lake on their own... I don't know what Mac is thinking letting her go just like that, maybe he doesn´t know...".

"Honey! Jack and María are both seventeen, they are lifelong friends and they are dating now. It is summer and they will not be alone at the lake. And I know Sue had the talk with her..."

"The talk? Do you really think that works?"

"Well, it worked for Julie back then. And María is a grown-up girl. You should see the way she thinks and talks about her future... I see why Mac and Sue are so proud and let her spend as much time as she wants with her boyfriend."

"All right, all right. You have a point there. But, please get the tutoring subject right. Choose a good boy for her. I don't know if Mac will be very pleased to let her golden girl share alone time with some of our players, and I don´t want him complaining about that. Let´s try and keep that out of the locker room."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

It was nearly seven o´clock but María could still feel the strong sun on her skin. As soon as they had arrived to the lake, they had left their bags on the pebbled shore and had gone in for a swim. The day was really hot and they both were good swimmers, so they stayed in the water for a long time. Now they were resting on the towels, facing the sun and holding hands. Most of the people that crowded the spot earlier had left now and it was very quiet and peaceful.

"This is great. Being here with you and not thinking about going back to Florida…" she mumbled while she kissed the back of his hand.

"Which is great? Being here with me or not thinking about going back to Florida? Because I just...".

"Oh, shut up Jack! You know what I mean".

"Yeah, but I thought maybe you would start missing Florida after that interview with Mrs. Taylor... you know, you are barely going to have time for yourself, not to mention me...".

"Don't worry Jack. Everything is going to be fine, we are going to be fine". "Was she trying to convince herself?" that thought crossed her mind as she said it, and quickly decided against it.

"Do you realize you live in Dillon and I live in Westerby, right? I don't know how we are gonna see each other on school days, with golf, football and soccer practice, tutoring and all that..."

"Oh, we´ll make the best of every weekend, you are going to be sick to death of me."

"No chance in hell, come here". He put his arm around her shoulders and she rested her head on his chest, his other hand on her back, and he kissed her sweetly on the forehead. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying the proximity with each other. Then Jack shifted, locked eyes with her and said: "María, about last night, I am so sorry. I want to apologize again…"

María´s expression changed immediately. She did not want to recall the events of the previous night, at least not now. She was really upset and worried about it and she had been concealing it from everybody since then. In fact, she had been glad that she had the interview with Mrs. Taylor today of all days, as it had given her the chance to put the previous night to the back of her mind and focus on something else. They had planned a film and dinner at his house, like they usually did at least once a week. Jack´s parents were out on a business trip like many times before, and they started making out on the couch as soon as the film was over. They had talked at great length about sex since they had started dating, the bottom line being that María always said that she was not ready. Clearly Jack had been willing to take action on that matter, but he had been very understanding and supportive, always telling her that sex was not a priority for him and that he agreed with her on waiting until the time was right. He said that he was happy to let her set their pace.

But María had not changed her mind throughout all these months, and she had made sure that Jack knew it by raising the subject herself. But the last time they talked about it he did not seem to be as understanding as he used to be. All of a sudden, he had a lot of reasons for them to start having sex now that they had been dating for a year and they would be living in the same county. When María said that she was still not ready no matter what, he said that it was Ok, but in that exact instant María felt that it was not Ok at all.

However, nothing had changed since then. María had forgotten about it and trusted Jack completely as she had always had, until the previous night. They had been making out for a while when suddenly Jack led his right hand under the hem of her t-shirt and, instead of keeping it on the small of her back or her stomach, he placed it under her bra, cupping and caressing her left breast while kissing her. She just froze when she felt Jack´s hand going up her abdomen, and tried to pull out of his touch, but his left arm was holding her waist tightly and she could hardly move. "Jack, what are you doing?" she whispered while he expertly undid her bra and started touching her again. "Sssss, just relax and enjoy it", he whispered back while kissing her neck, his hand still wandering on her upper body. She stayed still for what seemed like an eternity until Jack realized she was not kissing him back or moving at all. He tilted his head, looked at her and said: "Hey, what´s wrong? This is supposed to be fun". "How can you have the nerve to ask that?" she mumbled while quickly moving to the other end of the couch as soon as he released his grip on her. "Come on, María, don´t you think you are exaggerating? I wasn´t going to go all the way…", he said moving towards her and reaching for her hand. "Please don´t touch me. When were you going to stop?" She could feel the rage building up inside her and was doing her best not to outburst. The situation was unpleasant enough as it was. "Oh, please, María, it was just getting to second base… You are overreacting… We have been dating for a year now, I thought we could move on just a little bit….".

"I said I wasn´t ready", she interrupted him. "And I think I haven´t done anything to make you think otherwise. Don't you think I deserved a heads-up if you had changed your mind? We said we would always be honest with each other no matter what. Is lust, or desire, or whatever this is going to change that? Because if it is, I think we should stop seeing each other". She was looking at him while she spoke in a low voice, trying to hold back her anger. "No, of course not. Nothing is gonna change that. I am sorry, I didn´t mean to scare you." "Well, you did. Could you please take me home now?" she replied getting up from the couch. They had another hour before her curfew, but he just nodded and took her home.

So when Jack had started apologizing again she relived the experience vividly and pulled away from him. They had had such a good time at the lake that she had forgotten about it, although there was a tiny voice inside her telling her that forgetting about it would not make it go away. She was really enjoying the quiet and being with him until he brought it up. "Please, Jack, I don´t want to talk about that. Just promise me it won´t happen again". "It won´t, I promise. I didn´t mean to hurt you. I love you".

There, he had said the three magic words. She had longed to hear him say that for a considerable time. She had even been tempted to say it first a few times, mostly when they would be saying good-bye to each other every time she had to go back to Florida after a school break, but at the end she had never said it because she thought that it might be too soon and she might scare him. Little did she know then that she would not be able to say it back when she first heard it. She just held his hand tight and said: "It´s getting late, we should go home."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Fortunately for her, football practice started soon and that kept Jack busy in Westerby most of the afternoons. She really welcomed the break, as she was beginning to find it difficult to trust him when they were alone. The fact that he had said "I love you" after apologizing again was only making it harder, and she just avoided being with him when no one was around. And apparently, he was happy to let her have some space, which was not like him at all. So for the first time since she was back home, she had time to reconnect with her friends. "Has Jack been monopolizing me since I arrived home? Well, to be honest, if he has, I was the one that was letting him do that", she thought while she was waiting for Miles and Alan to pick her up and go to the driving range. Miles was delighted to see her. María being one of his dearest friends (no doubt his girlfriend Tara was so jealous every time her name came up), he had been really worried since she had called him late at night a few days ago. Something in her voice was not right. She said that she had been thinking about having a barbeque at her house with all "The great five" like old times before Miles and Alan went off to college, and she wanted to know if he would be in. But he did not buy it. The truth was that as soon as she had arrived home that night after the situation with Jack, she had felt the need to talk to a friend. She wanted to know if there was a chance that she was overreacting in any way. Also, now that she was calming down she was really concerned about the fact that Jack had seemed really experienced at it, and as far as she knew, he had the same experience at sex as her, that was, none. She immediately thought about Miles, and as soon as she dialed his number, she felt she would betray Jack if she told Miles about it, and she quickly thought about an excuse to be calling him at that time.

The three of them had a great time at the range. Miles was happy to see that María seemed to be fine. As dinner time approached, they had agreed to go to grab something to eat, and while they were getting gas on their way to the Alamo Freeze and Alan was out the car, he had told her about his concern, encouraging her to not hesitate and reach him if there was something that was worrying her. "You know you can count on us for anything. Readjusting to life in Dillon may be a little bit hard. Remember that we are "The great five", we are all here for you", he said while hugging her. She was really moved by his concern, but she said nothing about Jack. She had to come to terms with it herself before telling anyone. Besides that, Jack was also a part of "The great five" himself. And she knew that Miles would confront Jack at once if she told him. She did not want that, she could fix things herself. "Well, at least I am now admitting that there is something that has to be fixed. That´s a great step forward", she sadly thought.

They finally made it to the Alamo Freeze and she started talking to Matt Saracen after placing their order. They had been classmates in middle school, they were never close back then but had somehow kept track of each other´s life through common friends. She had always thought that he was a sweet and sensitive boy with a great smile and couldn't understand why Julie Taylor had broken up with him the year before. "Maybe you have a thing for QBs…", Jules had told her once. As the coaches´ daughters, María and Julie had been together at every event related to the football team that took place during school breaks for the last two years. They got on well with each other despite having nothing in common apart from being the coaches´ girls, so their topic of conversation would always be the same: football players. She had laughed it off, but one thing was certain though: she really had a thing for football and golf players, especially if they were both. She had always felt a special connection with boys that played golf and football, and she had already had a crush on two of them during her life.

Smash chimed in and warmly greeted her. She was just telling him that she was back for the whole school year when she heard her friends say: "Hey Billy, what´s up man?" She turned around beside the counter and found him smiling fondly at her while quickly shaking hands with Miles and Alan. "Hey M, so good to see you. How are you?", he said as he step forward and hugged her. Billy had been a constant presence in her life until she went to Florida. Walt Riggins had been her very first golf teacher when she was a little girl, and he usually took his boys to the range with him. Tim became one of her best friends growing up (a member of "The great five" himself) and Billy, being seven years her senior, was like a big brother to her. As he was also one of the Panthers players throughout High School, he would regularly attend the barbeques Mac McGill liked to host whenever they had a big game ahead of them, and on those occasions Billy was the only one that paid any attention to the only girl in the house, sitting to eat by her side and answering all her questions about football. When they won State, he let her wear his ring in her hand for a whole afternoon, something that not even her father had allowed her to do with his own, making her the happiest girl in the world.

When she was a little bit older, he would be the only one willing to stay with her until the range closed, most of her friends preferring to go somewhere else after long hours of training. He taught her all he knew about golf and even a stronger bond developed between them. Unlike his brother Tim, she was always eager to learn and he really enjoyed teaching her, she was like a sponge and highly talented. He always knew that she would go places. When she was shortlisted for GMI, he was the first one to know beside Mac and Sue, as she run all the way to his house to tell him the news. He had moved back into his family house the year before to take care of Tim, giving up all his PGA dreams, and he was struggling then with all the mess that Walt had left behind him, so when María found him fixing his truck on his driveway and jumped into his arms yelling "I´m in, I´m in", he could not be happier, a sensation long gone.

When she left for Florida, Billy lost his only source of joy and pride, as Tim went into "hibernation mode" (mostly skipping classes and drinking) shortly after she was gone. Nothing was the same after Jason Street´s accident. Nevertheless, Billy committed himself to keep in touch with her, so she would get a postcard from him now and then over those years, only with short sentences like "Go get them", "Kick ass", always ending with "We miss you, Texas forever". He had phoned her on her birthday every year, and when she had a sprained ankle and missed the State finals she had been training so hard for, he was the first one she had called, crying, looking for comfort and advice.

She knew these last years had taken a toll on him, continuously struggling from job to job to pay the mortgage and provide for Tim and himself, and trying to get Tim on a good track to build a future. She had been meaning to call him since she was back home but she had never found the right moment, so when he hugged her in the Alamo Freeze she whispered in his ear "I am sorry Billy". He just held her tighter, kissed her cheek, stepped back and said: "You know where I live, don´t be a stranger." And with that he greeted Matt and Smash, said "Bye boys" to Miles and Alan and turned around for the door, leaving a puzzled María behind.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Time seemed to fly by and school was starting in a week. Miles and Alan were already gone off to college and the barbeque they had planned never happened, as apparently everyone had a busy schedule getting ready for school and going to football practice. So María had fallen into an easy routine, practicing golf in the mornings, meeting Jack for lunch and going to soccer practice and spending time with her parents in the afternoons, just waiting for school to start.

She was enjoying soccer practice so far. Coach Roberts turned out to be an enthusiastic coach trained in Europe who really lived for soccer and was determined to have a competitive team. The very same day practice had started, after the first drills with the ball, Coach Roberts had asked María for a quick word and without preamble offered her the captain position right there while they were standing by the bleachers. She said that she had already talked to the rest of the team and even showed them a few tapes of Maria playing for GMI, and everyone had agreed, so she just had to pick up a number to wear on her shit and her captain's armband. Clearly there was no getting away from captaincy and Coach would not have a "no" for an answer. María kindly thanked her and said she would try her best to live up to the expectations, adding that any shirt number that no one was currently using would be great, she had no preferences on that.

Her first duty as captain was just around the corner. The school´s sport committee had arranged an informal gathering at the gym for all the teams to attend as the kick-off season meeting. All the school staff and even some boosters for the football team would also be there. María had been told that, as the soccer team captain, she would be standing on the stage, among the captains of the rest of the teams, and she would be expected to give a short speech on their main goals for the season. Team shirt and jeans were mandatory for all the players.

She had been working hard on the speech for the last few days. She did not want to let her team down in the first instance. And that had given her a good excuse to try and see Jack as little as possible. Oddly enough, he had not complained about it. So when the day arrived and she headed for the school gym, she was looking forward to becoming part of Dillon High School community as if she had been there for the previous three years. But one thing she had not considered was the possibility that the word "jeans" could have a dual meaning. As she made her way to the stage clad in her soccer shirt and jeans, she noticed that all boys were wearing jeans and all girls short jean skirts. "Great, now I will be the newbie forever…". As there was no way she could go home to change and come back in time, she quickly undid her ponytail in an effort to match, somehow, the rest of the girls gathered in the gym and prayed that the podium would block the view from the other side of the stage. She stood beside Matt Saracen who kindly smiled to her. He moved over to give her some room in the crowded stage and suddenly Tim Riggins appeared behind him. He was talking to Coach Taylor and had not seen her. They had not seen or talked to each other for the last two years, and María noticed that he had hardly changed. Same face, same hair, a slightly stronger body could be guessed through his clothes. As she was looking at him, the Principal approached the podium and welcomed everybody. From then on she rehearsed her speech in her mind and barely listened to the Principal, the coaches and the captains of the rest of the teams. Matt and Tim gave a joint speech that made everybody laugh and suddenly the Principal introduced her and it was her turn. She cleared her throat and moved toward the microphone. She looked up and saw all the audience looking at her expectantly, the girls in her soccer team waving at her. She smiled to the public, took a deep breath and gave an inspiring and encouraging speech that engaged the audience and earned her a long-lasting applause. She could not have done it better. Mac was so proud that he could not hide his wide smile while everybody standing by him on the stage praised her.

As soon as the speeches were over, she quickly made a bee-line to her team and she was congratulated by every girl and Coach Roberts. She was just looking around for her father when she heard a husky voice behind her: "Still don´t like skirts, Mars?" Tim. Those were his first words in two years. Typical Tim, everybody but him had seemed to forget about the jeans after her speech.

"Hi Timmy. How are you?" She turned around and tried to be as polite as possible. It was hard to find the right words to talk to someone who once was one of your closest friends and had just disappeared from your life without any notice.

"Great speech. Coach Taylor must be jealous. And nice number, by the way". She was wearing number 33 on her soccer shit. "Not my choice really". She had not remembered that that was Tim´s number on the football team, it was just some random number that Coach Roberts had assigned her. Now she understood why her father had laughed and said "Of all numbers…" when she had proudly shown her shirt at home the day soccer practice had started. She had thought then that he did not like double numbers. "What would Coach Roberts think if I ask her to change it?" she quickly thought.

"So Jack and you, I never saw that coming…". Well, this was getting worse every minute. Clearly Tim wanted to talk and there was no way to avoid it among all these people without making a scene, and that was the last thing she needed right now. She tried to relax and think about the Tim she had shared most of her life with as kids and young teenagers, not the Tim on radio silence for the last two years.

"Neither did I…", she said without thinking. He smirked at her. "Really?" "Really".

"I always thought it would be Miles and you, or even you and me…"

"Please, don´t be so full of yourself."

"So how is it going with Jack?"

"Well, very well", she whispered trying to emphasize "very". But there was something in her eyes when she said it that meant just the opposite. And Tim did not miss it.

"Oh, trouble in paradise already? Isn´t he a good kisser? " Well, now he was bringing up old private jokes between them. Could this get any worse? She was about to lose her patience any minute.

"He is great at everything, actually. And, unlike you, he has been by my side all these years. Everyone have in their own way, except you", she blurted out without thinking.

She was telling the truth. Despite his terrible accident, even Jason Street had kept in touch with her during all the time she was in Florida. Her father usually said that he was the best both on and off the field, and he was right. Jason had always had a soft spot for María, that little girl that kept asking them to play football whenever Tim and he were around. And when she became a teenager he was the first one, besides Billy, to see that she had something different from all the kids at that age: she was determined to pursue her dreams no matter how hard she would have to work for them. So knowing that she was at boarding school far from home, he would always find the time to write long letters to her every week, keeping her in the loop with developments in Dillon. He just stopped doing it for four weeks, right after his accident, and he resumed writing as soon as he felt well enough to dictate to his mother. Jason´s letters had been the link connecting her to her friends´ lives in Dillon while she had been away, and she would be forever grateful for that. Now that he was in New Jersey, it was the other way around: María was the one telling him about their friends and how different their lives were from the ones they had three years before.

When he heard her blunt words, Tim locked eyes with her and slowly leant on the wall. Since they had started talking by the soccer team they had been slightly moving to the end of the gym trying to reach a spot where they could hear each other despite the noisy crowd. Finally he had the chance to apologize. He had gone over the words he was about to say a million times in his head. He wanted to do it right. "I´m so sorry, Mars. I was a jerk and I am so sorry I hurt you. It´s no excuse but everything fell apart after Jay´s accident. I´m sorry I was drunk on the phone, I´m sorry I never returned your last calls, I´m sorry I never wrote you back…. Believe me, if I could relive all that, it would be completely different."

María just stared at him in surprise. The last thing she expected from this unwanted conversation was an apology, even less such a long one. He had never been a talker. And, to be honest, she had her own share of the responsibility for not staying in touch, too. It takes two to tango.

"Well, for what is worth, I am sorry I finally gave up on you. I should have never done that. I am sorry I didn´t know how to help you…".

"It´s fine, Mars. No worries."

"I hope you are doing well now. Are you, Timmy?", she asked remembering that Jason had recently told her about Tim even going to church on a regular basis to make a good impression on Lyla Garrity. The thought of Tim and Lyla together was still a mystery to her. "Opposites attract, I guess".

"Yeah, working on it. Are we cool?" he said extending his right hand.

"We are. I´m really glad we cleared the air. I´ve missed you, Timmy", she strongly shook his hand. "I saw Billy the other day", she added trying to move on to a lighter subject. She was truly moved by their talk and their mutual apologies.

"Yeah, he told me. He said you looked fantastic", he said smirking. She instantly blushed, and he wondered why a compliment like that from Billy would make her blush. He knew for a fact that she didn´t blush easily. "Why are you blushing? Wait, is there something I should know?" he bluntly asked.

"You wish!" she laughed it off. She had to get out of there before she said anything she would regret later. "Sorry, I have to go, my dad is waiting for me. Take care and see you around, Timmy" she said while briefly hugging him before turning around to look for her dad.

While they were talking, Tami Taylor noticed them from the other side of the gym. She had been thinking about pairing them up for tutoring, as Tim could really use the help to improve his grades to be able to graduate and even to go to college, and Tami trusted him completely not to be wasting María´s time, thinking that he was finally on the right track. They also had sports in common, and she thought that it could really work out well. But now she had her doubts after seeing them so close engaged in what seemed to be an intimate conversation, even holding hands for a moment.

"Hey, hon", she addressed her husband. "Look over there, a new love interest for Riggins? I never thought he would be María´s type. They even wear the same shirt number. I was thinking about pairing them up for tutoring, but now I don´t know…". "Yes! Please, do!" he enthused. "Come again?" "They are lifelong friends, Tami, they have been playing golf together since they were little kids. Please pair them up, I need him extra focused this season and if this girl is half the star everybody says she is she will help him. God, look at the speech she just gave, I am sure she will keep him on track". "All right. And are you sure Mac will agree on it?" "He will, I bet he would prefer Riggins to any other player, and if he doesn´t, I will convince him".


	6. Chapter 6

isclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

"Ok, let me get this straight", Tyra said. "You like Jack, like, a lot, but you won´t let him touch you at all. Is that what you are trying to say?" Julie, Tyra and María were in Julie´s bedroom, supposedly working on their class schedule (school was starting the following day), but actually talking about boys. As Sue McGill had expressed her concern about María not having many friends at school, it had been Tami´s idea to invite both María and Tyra to dinner two weeks after she had come back home. After that they would occasionally hang out together and Julie would invite them over whenever she had the chance. María welcomed the distraction, she had always gotten along with Jules, and Tyra really came as a breath of fresh air. María found "nowadays Tyra" to be completely different from the Tyra she knew and had to deal with three years ago. At that time, Tyra would be chasing Tim pretty much 24/7, and he would be ignoring her in return, and María would be the one that was usually with him, at school, at both their houses, at the driving range… Tyra was therefore jealous of María and saw no problem at all in letting her know. Now, more than three years and a long on and off story with Tim later, Tyra could see that María had not played any role at all back then. She genuinely liked María despite having almost nothing in common with her.

And Eric was delighted to have María over. When she was at their home football talk was allowed at the table, and he liked to discuss plays and strategies with her. She was used to top-level sport and they both share their own stories after years competing. And she was good playing ping-pong, too. He loved his daughter Julie, but sometimes he wished she was a little more like María regarding sports. He was placing all his hope in Gracie, hopefully she would like sports more than her big sister.

María stared at Tyra in disbelief and muttered "Sorry?" Tyra rolled her eyes and started "I was saying that…". "No, no, I heard you, but it just didn´t sound right when you said it…", she whispered lowering her gaze to the floor.

Julie looked at Tyra, silently begging her to stop talking, sat on her bed beside María and put her arm over her shoulders. She smiled at her. "Hey, María, if it is right for you it is right for you. No one else has a saying about that but you. "

"Yeah, I know, but looking in from the outside it does not sound right". She looked up. "No wonder that Jack doesn´t understand it". Tyra moved over and sat on the floor in front of them. She reached out for María´s hand and held it. "Did something happen, María?"

She looked at Julie and Tyra and all of a sudden felt that they could understand her. She had had so many male role models in her life that sometimes she found it difficult to share things with her few female friends, even with her mother. So she just let herself be taken in by their kindness and told them everything. That Jack and her had been friends since they were little kids, and suddenly had started dating the summer before, that they had only seen each other on school breaks until this summer, that María had always said that she was not ready for sex, that Jack had been very understanding and supportive in the beginning but had changed his mind when she came home a few weeks ago. She also described them the situation at Jack´s home that night, how he apologized and said that he loved her the following day, and how she had been avoiding being alone with him since then, and he had not complained at all about it. And, last but not least, that lately they would just meet for lunch whenever Jack was free from football practice and hardly spoke on the phone.

"How long has this been going on?" Tyra softly asked. "Since football practice started, I guess". Julie and Tyra just looked at each other. "If you know something please tell me, I´m not gonna shoot the messenger". Julie held her closer and started talking. "I don´t know if you are familiar with the term rally girl…". Julie and Tyra took turns and told her everything they knew about Molly Farlane as smoothly as possible. She was a new rally girl in Westerby and word on the street was that she was really close to Jack. Some girls from Dillon even claimed to have seen her wearing his football shirt and hoodie at the mall. As if that were not enough, some days before they had been seen together at a football party, which they left together quite drunk. "The party I said I didn´t want to go, he told me he had stayed at home…". Sadness and anger for the betrayal overtook her. She looked up and just said "Thank you both for telling me. Now I know".

"You´re welcome. But please consider talking to him and actually hearing him before doing anything that you may regret later. Sometimes there is no turning back. He´s your first love and it can be hard…". "I wouldn´t say that he´s my first love, Tyra. I see now that´s something completely different". She stopped talking when she saw their surprised faces. "No wonder they are surprised, I was convinced that I loved him just a few weeks ago", she sadly thought. She decided to go on. They had told her about Molly and the rumors, she may as well tell them what was going on in her mind. "Jack is the first guy I have ever dated. I'm not in love with him, I'll get over him. I just have to come to terms with all this and end things for good". She was nearly in shock. She had never imagined that Jack might be cheating on her. She thought that, first and foremost, they were friends. And everybody, even her parents, found him to be the perfect guy.

"You are full of surprises María. Sorry, I have to ask: are you in love with someone else? Maybe that has something to do with the fact that you wouldn´t let Jack touch you? That could make sense…."

María´s expression changed completely as she thought about him, Tyra had just hit the nail on the head. She had only recently found out about her real feelings for him because of the situation with Jack. She was now aware that even when she was happy with Jack, those feelings had always been there, buried under multiple layers of friendship, common interests, age difference, and, for the last three years, physical distance. A wide smile crossed her face and her eyes lit up, and Julie and Tyra immediately sensed the change. "Just platonic love, nothing has ever happened. He is older than me and very much out of my league and would never notice me in that way. "

"Wait, what do you mean older than you? Matt is older that Julie here, and I have to admit that I am older than Landry... That´s not big deal." Tyra knew for a fact that being the same age was not any guarantee of success in a relationship, but she could not imagine that María was not referring to that kind of age difference. María laughed. "Well, I wouldn´t call that older, older. When I say older, I mean seven years my senior…"

"So he´s in his mid twenties…" Julie did the math quickly. She was confused and she was not hiding it. She couldn´t understand why Maria would be interested in someone that older than her. How could there be any common interests there? "Yeap… see? Very much out of my league, so I wouldn´t know if it would count as "first love", either…" María was smiling to them, trying to play it down.

"Well, I am sorry to be the one to break the news for you, María, but a man in his mid twenties would certainly expect sex. That´s something you should bear in mind if you are to pursue a relationship with him, whoever he is…"

"I never thought about that before, Tyra, but, I have to say that I think I´d be ready for him should it be the case …". It was true that María had never thought about it. She had been rather surprised to find out about her true feelings for him, and the thought of a relationship with him had never crossed her mind. Nor any other implications. That would be totally pointless as she was sure that he would never see her that way, and she did not want to lose him as a friend while pursuing an impossible dream. So when Tyra brought up the possibility of sex with him, María was stunned to find out that she would have no reservations at all. For her, that was the best proof that her feelings were real, and she would have to learn to live with them."Great, something else to deal with." Senior year was starting to seem more complicated than what she had expected when she took the decision to come back home.

"Full of surprises indeed!" Julie said with a concern look on her face. She really liked María and she was afraid that this whole "platonic love" story might be hiding something that could limit somehow her capacity to love and therefore affect María´s future. "We will keep an eye on her", she thought as her mother was calling them for dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

School finally started and María suddenly found herself with no free time at all. New teachers, new classmates and new subjects kept her busy throughout the week. She had not talked to Jack yet. They had just been speaking on the phone and María had gone to see his first game, hoping that after it she would have a chance to talk to him, but he wanted to go to a big party and she just congratulated him on their win and went back to Dillon. They had not seen each other again since that night.

As agreed with Mrs. Taylor, her father was giving her a round ride to the driving range at lunch time every weekday so she could train golf on a daily basis. She had to do that if she wanted to remain eligible for a full golf scholarship at a good college.

Then she had soccer practice after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and games on Wednesday afternoon. As the team captain, Coach Roberts usually kept her in her office for a while after everyone had left to have a little chat about the team and the incoming game, so her time for homework was usually reduced to a minimum.

And she had started tutoring Tim the very first week school had begun. Tami called both of them to her office and told them that they were to work together, adding that she thought it was a going to be a very successful partnership for them and she was sure they would get the best out of it. Tim had been pleased to learn that he would be studying with María, they knew each other very well and he was positive she would make a great tutor for him, as she was generous and patient and they had already done some studying together at middle school. María, on the other side, had had conflicting emotions about it despite Mrs. Taylor´s enthusiasm. On one hand, she was happy with the fact that she would be tutoring someone she knew and not someone she would have to get to know first in order to help him/her in the best possible way, but, on the other, she had her reservations about Tim. She doubted Tim was now the same Tim she had spent most of her childhood and early teens with.

During the last two years her father, Miles, Alan, Jason and Jack had filled her in with disheartening details about Tim´s life, and some of those things did not sound like the Tim she knew at all. She herself had experienced it very much in person when he suddenly went MIA two years ago and never again heard from him until the sports meeting at school, despite being one of her closest friends. While growing up they had been together for almost everything: their first day at elementary and middle school, their first golf tournament, their first swim in the sea, their first party… they even shared what was the first kiss for both of them when María had just turned fourteen. They were curious about it and it was María who came up with the idea, claiming that they should try to find out if it was as good as all their friends were saying. In the end when Tim gave in and complied to her wishes it proved to be disastrous, as the two of them were so nervous that the outcome was anything but a kiss. But while it took María more than two years and a lot of persuasion from Jack to even think about kissing a boy again, it did not stop Tim from starting kissing girls soon enough, and he had not stopped since then, from what she had heard.

Furthermore, Mac and Sue were glad that María was tutoring a boy that they had known for so long. Certainly Tim had a reputation among parents in Dillon but somehow they trusted Tim with María. They just asked them to work together at their home, not at the library or Tim´s house, as they were worried about her tight schedule, and they wanted her to spend at home as much time as possible. They also told Tim that he was expected to have dinner with them anytime he would be studying there if it was ok with Billy. And Billy had no objections to that at all, as he thought the McGills would be good influence for Tim. He seemed to be doing better now and he wanted to help him in any way he could, so if that meant that most weekdays he would be eating dinner alone while Tim was with the McGills, so be it.

So Tim became a regular at the McGills´ dinner table, and somehow, María and Tim quickly found their way back to the kids and young teenagers they once were as though the last two years had never happened, and much to María's surprise they were comfortable spending time together. And tutoring was being a rewarding experience for both of them so far. Tim was an easy-going person if you knew him like María did and she was a really good tutor. He had reduced his drinking to the minimum (Tim knew Mac would kill him if he drank around his house and, more specifically, around his daughter), plus he was getting much needed family time with the McGills and he started getting good grades soon. Coach Taylor and his teachers were delighted.

So by early October María was fully immersed in a routine consisting in school, sport practice, tutoring, college applications and homework that did not leave her much time to think about something else. She really welcomed it as she did not know how to address the "Jack" issue. Her recently discovered feelings for Billy were not helping, either. She did not want to end things with Jack without talking to him as she somehow had started to feel guilty about the whole situation but he seemed comfortable with the way things were between then now, which she could not understand at all. And all this rally girl stuff was completely new for her despite having been raised in Texas by a football coach. She had been tempted to ask their parents about it, but finally she had decided against it as she knew they would start asking questions and eventually freak out if they found out about the reason. She did take into account Tyra´s and Julie´s intake about it, but she wondered if there could be something else that she was missing. Asking Mrs. Taylor was out of the question, as she wanted to prevent her parents from knowing. The truth was that nothing was like she had expected it to be when she had decided to return home for her senior year, and she was feeling a little bit lost.

It was a Monday afternoon and the still strong sun shone over the football field in Dillon High. As usual, María had soccer practice head of her, and then Tim would be waiting for her by his truck after football practice to go to her home to study as he did every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. This, together with the lack of any known love affairs in Tim´s life lately and the amount of time they were spending together had led to rumors involving the two of them. María, who was well aware of those rumors and had decided that there was no way to stop them no matter what they did, found it even more intriguing that Jack had not asked her about it at all.

Football practice had ended earlier than usual due to maintenance and repair works that were being carried out on the soccer field. Coach Roberts had finally convinced the school´s sport committee to allocate part of the sports annual budget to improve the condition of their field, and that meant that the soccer team would have to share the field with the football team for nearly two weeks, taking turns every afternoon. Tim was not dealing well with the cut in football practice time. His hard efforts to make a good impression on Lyla and win her back were unsuccessful so far, and frustration was starting to wear on him. He also had a lot of study to do as he was taking his S.A.T.s again the following month, and not drinking at all was not helping either. So instead of going to the library to try and use his extra free time to study while waiting for María, he decided he would wait for her sitting on the bleachers. He was really missing his time outdoors lately and, besides, he would get a real good view of the cheerleader team practicing from that location. Being able to watch Lyla without her Christian boyfriend by her side was something that he could not miss.

Therefore he went up the bleachers, sat down and made himself as comfortable as possible to watch the "show". Wearing his sunglasses, he was really enjoying the view. He kept his gaze fixed on the far end of the field, where the cheerleader team was, but soon enough one of the soccer players on the other side drew his attention. She was shooting from different positions encouraging her goalkeeper with every shot. The fact that she did not miss any of her shots was not what had struck him. It was the way she kept running and giving instructions to her goalkeeper what made him forget about Lyla and focus on this soccer player. While she kept shooting, now from further behind, still not missing any shot, he noticed that she was a little bit taller that the rest of the team, and she had a better body, too. Long tanned legs and well modeled curves made her the most attractive girl on the field, even more attractive than Lyla to his surprise. The direct sun light upon his sunglasses prevented him from discerning her facial features and she was wearing a sleeveless overall on her shirt, so he could not see her number. He was so absorbed in looking at her that he had not noticed that now most soccer players were looking at him and chatting.

"Hey, McGill", Coach Roberts called María approaching her before she shot for the umpteenth time. "Would you please go up there and tell Mr. Sunglasses to leave right away? He is distracting my players and we have an important game coming up in two days". And that was when she looked up and saw him sitting on the bleachers. "Of course, Coach", she said. "Great for the gossip", she thought while she started climbing up the stairs. As she did so, Tim could then see her number clearly under the overall, 33. "Mars?" he wondered. As she was climbing the last flight of stairs, her cleats making noise against the concrete, he did not waste the opportunity to check her out. "She is a soccer goddess!" he thought while grinning at her. She noticed his mischievous look and was about to convey Coach Roberts´s message when she was interrupted.

"Has Jack seen you in your soccer gear?" he blurted out.

"What?... No, he hasn´t". Everybody was too busy to come to her games, even Jack. "Hi, by the way".

"He should. You look really good down there". As soon as he said it, he realized how it sounded. "I mean, you didn´t miss a …".

"Thank you Timmy, but a compliment is not going to make me forget that you were checking me out a minute ago…. Listen, Coach Roberts wants you to leave, apparently you are distracting all the players….".

"Not all, you were pretty focused down there, McGill…" he was looking at her with his trademark grin. And he knew she hated it when he called her by her last name.

"Whatever. Please, Timmy, could you just leave? I know you are waiting for me but I don´t want…"

Right then Coach Roberts´s strong voice could be heard all over the field: "McGill, stop flirting and come down right now". Everyone started laughing, except the coaches, María and Lyla, who just glanced at them with a curious look in her face.

"Oh, great. Meet you in the parking lot, Timmy". She turned around and flew down the stairs. "The sooner everybody starts with the drills again, the better", she thought blushing. If she had looked back to him then, she would have noticed the way he was still checking her out, and how he started gathering his things the moment he noticed Lyla had seen him doing so and was moving her head with disappointment.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Five weeks had passed since María had gone to see Jack´s first game, and still she had not been able to get him to talk. Now they would speak on the phone every evening after dinner, telling each other about their day, and they would hang out on the weekends, but María did everything she could not to spend much time alone with him and it was a hard issue to bring up if you were surrounded by a bunch of football players in a crowded restaurant. It was like a snake biting its own tail.

It was a bye week for the Dillon Panthers and it was Billy´s birthday on Friday. Tim had asked María to swing by their place after soccer practice to have some pizza and watch a game on TV, like they used to do before she went to Florida. "Like old times", he had told her. At first she had hesitated when she had recalled her encounter with Billy at the Alamo Freeze. She had not heard from him since then and she had not tried to get in touch with him. "Well, maybe it is better that way", she thought. Since she had found out about her real feelings for Billy she had been afraid of doing or saying anything that would let him know. She felt bad because he had done nothing to give rise to those feelings and she was starting to realize that they might have played an important part in the whole situation with Jack. Finally she had decided that she had to go, that Billy was not to blame for her own feelings, that he had always been one of her closest friends, and probably, the person who had influenced María the most, apart from her parents.

What María did not know was that Billy had grabbed the phone to call her a ton of times since that day they saw each other at the Alamo Freeze, always putting it down before dialing. Seeing her had not only brought back many memories of happier times, but also made him realize that she was not a little girl anymore, that she had turned into a very beautiful and appealing woman. When he had arrived home that day, Tim had murmured from the couch. "Hey, what´s up with the smile?" "I just run into María at the Alamo Freeze", he said not being able to wipe the smile from his face. "How is she?", "She´s fantastic. She has curves now!" he could not help saying. "Hey, shut up! It´s Mars you are talking about" "Yeah, I know, just wait until you see her…" he said. And he could also see that she had a splendid future ahead of her. So every time he held the phone to call her the same thought came to his mind: probably the last thing she wanted was to reconnect with an old small-town friend who happened to be loser. That is what he thought about himself. And he liked to think that María had not noticed it yet, that he was still a kind of a hero for her, like he was years ago.

When the night after Tim had seen her at soccer practice he had told Billy that he was right, she had curves indeed, and that she was the most attractive girl on the field, included those on the cheerleader team, which was a truly compliment coming from Tim, Billy had just looked at him with dreamy eyes and sighed, saying "Well, Jack Byrne is a lucky boy." Tim had expected a different kind of remark, more along the lines of his previous "She has curves now", but at that time he just thought that he was trying to be polite given the fact that it was actually María the girl they were talking about.

When she arrived to their house, two trucks were parked in the driveway. She was carrying a big tray with homemade lasagna, which she knew it was Billy´s favorite food, and a birthday present for him. The first thing that shocked her was the bad condition the house was in. Flaking paint was all over the door and the windows and the roof had seen much better days. She remembered when this house was the envy of the neighborhood, with the colorful flower beds out the front and the huge pool in the back yard.

She balanced the tray and the present on one hand and knocked on the door with the other. Tim opened the door, politely helped her with the tray and stepped aside to let her into the house. The living room and the kitchen had not changed a bit since she had been there for the last time. Maybe everything was a little bit older. She did not know that Billy had been working hard for the last days to have the house in the best possible condition for this evening. He stood up from the couch and started toward her as soon as he saw her entering the house, with a huge smile on his face. "Happy birthday, Billy", María said while she hugged him. "Thank you for coming, M", he replied trying to keep the hug a little longer. "I know you are busy, I really appreciate it". She stepped back and locked eyes with him. "Are you kidding? Now that I am home nothing is going to keep me away from your birthday. By the way, I hope you like it", she added while handing him his present.

It was wrapped up in colored paper and it only took him five seconds to open it. It was a framed old photograph of the three of them, taken in their backyard swimming pool on the very same day María learned to swim when she was five years old. Billy was holding both little kids, each on one of his arms, and María had her tiny arm around his neck. Billy and Tim were looking at the camera, smiling, while María was staring at Billy and pointing her thumb upwards with her other hand. It was one of María´s favorite photographs, and it had been sitting on her desk in Florida for the three years she spent there. She had assumed that Billy would like to have a copy.

"Wow, thank you. I didn´t know you had this…", Billy mumbled. "Yeah, I thought you may wanna have it". "Mom took it with your dad´s camera…", Tim said in a low voice. María knew that their mother was a touchy subject, so she quickly changed the topic. "If you don´t like the frame just say the word and I am sure…", "No, it´s perfect M, thank you", Billy replied kissing her on the cheek. They kept looking at each other until Tim broke the silence, asking them what kind of pizza he should order.

They spent a quiet evening watching a football game on TV and eating pizza. Tim did not miss the way María´s head rested on Billy´s shoulder for most the game, like it was the most normal thing in the world. They had been doing that for years, like close siblings, but now María was not a little girl anymore. He had never seen Billy like that with any of his countless previous girlfriends, nor with Mindy Collette, who he had been seeing for nearly a month now. When the game was over Billy asked her about her life back in Dillon. He knew bits and pieces from what Tim usually told him when he came home from tutoring, but he was really curious about her life. She enthusiastically told him about everything but Jack, not wanting to ruin the evening, but she suddenly realized this was a great opportunity to find more about the rally girls, since she was spending the evening with two high school football players who also happened to be very popular among the female population.

"Can I ask you both a question? I need a male perspective about something football related, but I am afraid my father would freak out if I ask him". "What about asking Jack?" Tim quickly said guessing what it could be about. María just ignored him and carried out, "What is it that rally girls do for football players?" The question shocked Billy but Tim was expecting the issue to be brought up any minute since he had also heard the rumors. And he was ready to try and help her. "Molly Farlane?" "You knew, Timmy? And you didn´t tell me?" Now it was Maria who was shocked, to the verge of tears. "Everybody does, Mars. They are just rumors, like the ones that claim that you are my secret girlfriend and we make out in the showers of the locker room every day after practice. You have to ask Jack". "I am trying, really, but I would be really helpful if you could enlighten me about the rally girls before I confront Jack". Billy just stared at both of them in disbelief, "Could you please tell me what's going on, M?"

And she told them that they would barely see each other on weekends since football practice started, and that Jack seemed to be comfortable with that. She did not mention anything about sex or the situation at his house, she knew how protective they could be. She wanted to talk to Jack before telling anyone that could confront him, and, truth to be told, she did not like the thought of letting Billy know right there and right then that she was not ready for sex. María also mentioned everything she knew about Jack and Molly together. "And, for the record, Timmy and I have never made out in the showers of the locker room or in any other place", she finished trying to lighten the mood. But somehow it was really important for her that Billy knew that.

Billy took her hand and squeezed it. "M, listen to me. Not all rally girls do the same for their players, not all the players and rally girls are the same. Just talk to Jack and ask him. Ok?"

"Ok. I think I´m gonna call it a night. I have early training tomorrow at the course. Why don´t you come and we play together, Billy? Like old times?" she hopefully asked. That took Billy by surprise. He had a day date with Mindy the following day to celebrate his birthday, as she had to work that night. "I am afraid I can´t tomorrow, M. Rain check"? "Ok, I´d love to. Thank you both for having me, I really had a great time. And thank you so much for your help with the rally girl thing."

"Thank you for coming, M. Need a ride?" Billy hopefully asked while leading her to the front door. He wanted to explain her that he would love to play with her, even on a regular basis, but words just would not come out of his month. Maybe giving her a ride home would give him the time to recover from this sudden lack of speaking skills.

"No, thank you, I borrowed my dad´s car." And with that and a hug for both of them she was out of the door heading for her car.

Tim closed the main door when she drove into their street, went straight to the fridge, took two beers out, sat beside Billy on the couch, handed him one of the bottles and said: "Ok, just spill it out, man."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Eric and Tami Taylor had been asking the McGills to have dinner over at their home since school started. A week had passed since Billy´s birthday and finally Jack and María were meeting to talk in the evening. So when Sue told María that they were going to the Taylor´s to have dinner she hoped that it would not make her change her plans. She was determined to talk to Jack and, even more, break up with him. After all this time she felt that they had nothing to fight for.

Luckily her mother told her that she did not have to change her plans for the evening. She could see Jack after dinner. "And don´t forget to say hi from us, it´s been ages since we´ve seen him", she friendly added. "Will do, Mom". She knew their eventual break up would be a great surprise for her parents.

Sue had a late shift at the hospital (she worked as a nurse) and she had asked María if she could go to the Taylor´s earlier in the afternoon to help Tami get everything ready. Well, she did have a late shift at the hospital but she knew Tami would be happy cooking on her own. It was a great excuse to make María spent some time alone with Tami. Mac and Sue were starting to worry about María. They thought she had an overloaded schedule and they were afraid that it would come back to her sooner or later. The fact that she was barely seeing Jack didn't make any sense to them, and she was not hanging out with any of her friends either. But, on the other hand, she seemed happy and they knew that if they asked her she would just say that everything was fine and that they should not worry. Sue hoped that María would open up to Tami in a relaxed atmosphere.

Tami was really happy to have María to help her. She really enjoyed the time Sue and her spend together, as the many football related events that they had hosted together during the last years had really bonded them. They soon went from mere old acquaintances to friends. But she was so intrigued about María that she was looking forward to spending some quality time with her away from school. She saw María as a caring and loving daughter that always tried to help her parents in any way she could. She was a straight A student and a golf rising star from an early age and she could also apply for a scholarship in soccer if she wanted to, according to Coach Roberts. Besides, she liked tutoring and she was doing a great job with Tim Riggins nothing less. She was dating Westerby´s football star Jack Byrne. And her daughter Julie, who usually had strong opinions about everybody, only had good words about her. Even Tyra Collette truly liked María despite having almost nothing in common with her.

So when María rang the bell, Tami had made it her mission to get to know her better. She greeted her warmly and María handed her the wine her parents were sending in advance, politely asking Tami how she could help her. Soon they were busy cutting vegetables and making sauces and conversation between them flowed naturally.

"So, María, how´s everything going?" Tami asked hoping that María would not shut down as she heard the question, as her daughter Julie would certainly do.

"Everything is fine, Mrs. Taylor. I am happy to be home and I think I fit in well at school. Some days I have a crazy schedule, with golf, soccer and homework but I have time to catch up during the weekends", María answered.

"Tami, María, it´s Tami here. Don´t you play golf tournaments during the weekends?" Tami thought she had tournaments all weekends.

"Not as many as I used to. This year I am only playing those tournaments that are mandatory to be eligible for schools. That allows me to be able to spend time at home, which is what I came back for in the first place". María was not sure why she was being so thorough, but there was something in Tami that made her want to share most of her experiences with her. And that was actually strange, as there were very few people she would trust for that, and on top of that she knew for a fact that her mother and Tami were close. "No wonder she's really good at her job".

"So you are not really excited about leaving for college then…" Now María did hesitate before answering. Finally she decided that there was nothing wrong in telling Tami the truth, although that meant that her parents would know. "To be honest, no, not right now. I think I know which college I´d like to go to, and I intend to enjoy life at home until such time comes". She looked at Tami waiting for a negative comment about that, but true understanding was all she saw in her eyes.

"Is that right? But it may be difficult to enjoy life at home with such a schedule. To that effect, have you thought about stopping tutoring? That would give you more time…"

"All due respect, Tami, I wouldn´t like that. Tim is doing well. He will be taking his S.A.T. soon and after that he has to graduate. I would like to keep helping him as long as possible." While she was saying that, she realized that reconnecting with Tim was one of the best things about her senior year so far. She had found her life to be completely different from what she had expected when she had decided to come back home, and Tim was now one of the few links she had to the life she had longed for while she was in Florida, with Miles and Alan gone to college, Jack lost for her since the summer and Billy sort of off-limits in her head since she found out about the way she really felt about him. "Come to think of it, Billy and I were much closer while I was in Florida, with postcards and calls, than we are now" she sadly thought. It never came to her attention the fact that she was not the only one that was keeping a distance between them. Billy was acting the same way towards her.

She tried to hide those thoughts while Tami smiled at her. "That´s so generous of you, María. But maybe after taking his S.A.T. he would not need as much help. Maybe you could reschedule the tutoring hours…"

"Why is she so determined to cut off Tim´s tutoring time?" María thought. "It is not big deal. The time I study with him also helps me, and I would have to do my homework with or without him…" So she decided to be honest again. "The truth is, Tami, tutoring Tim is also helping me with my studying schedule. It makes me be more responsible and it helps me focus. Please don´t make me give it up yet". She decided not to tell her that he also helped her not to feel lonely and disconnected from her childhood friends, as she was not sure to be willing to disclose that part to the school counselor and one of her mother´s best friends, no matter how well María liked Tami.

Tami never thought that she would hear from the best female student in Dillon High School that tutoring Tim Riggings helped her study. The more they were talking, the more that María surprised her. But if you came to think of it, everything made perfect sense.

"So, tell me about college, where do you intend to go?" Definitely, she wanted to know more about María. And any insight from a student like her was welcome from a professional point of view.

"UT Austin. It`s the closest home, and it has great coaches and great facility for golf. It´s one of the top golf programs and one of the greatest academic schools in the country, so it is a no brainer. And it is a full scholarship. I´ll keep other options open just in case…" She tried to add some enthusiasm to a well prepared speech, and apparently Tami bought it.

"Great choice, María. Your parents must be so proud of you. And what does Jack think about you going to UT? I think Eric told us that he was likely to go to Notre Dame, you will be very far away…"

María hesitated again. She looked at Tami and chose to be honest once more. There was no point in hiding it anymore, as she intended to break up with him that very same evening and she would eventually tell he parents. "We haven´t talked about college. Not recently, anyway."

Tami looked at her with surprise and María carried on. She did not know why, but she truly trusted Tami. "We haven´t seen each other much since football practice started. There was something we didn´t agree on and I stopped trusting him. I still can´t believe that happened to us, we´ve been friends since we were little kids. And I haven´t had the courage to confront him about some rumors involving a certain rally girl in Westerby".

Tami was now mouth agape. She could see that María was truly worried about her relationship with Jack and that it had been going on for a while now. "María, you know that nobody is going to think less of you or love you less for breaking up with Jack, don´t you?"

"I do. After giving it much thought, I am meeting him today after dinner, to break up with him." When she said it out loud, María sounded very confident, but deep inside she knew it was not going to be easy, nor pleasant.

"Can this girl surprise me in any other way? What can I tell Sue beyond the obvious? You have an incredible daughter, who is loving, caring, generous, sensible, and deals with matters as an adult", Tami thought. "I hope she is not hiding anything, coming home after three years at that age can be challenging at least". She decided to let her know she was there for her, just in case. "Well, María, if you need anyone to talk you, I am a good listener you know…"

"Thank you Tami, I know you are. I will be fine, I promise. Would you like me to finish that salad dressing for you?" she asked hoping to change the topic. She did not want to think about meeting Jack in a few hours. It was a bitter pill to swallow and she just wished she had not to do it, but breaking up with Jack over the phone was unthinkable for her.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

As she was standing in the parking lot of a truck stop in the middle of nowhere, crying and holding her cell in her hand, María wished she had broken up with Jack over the phone. It was pouring rain and she was frantically trying to make up her mind about who she should call to pick her up.

Jack had met her at the Taylor's after dinner, and apparently he was happy to see her. He had greeted everybody and had even stayed for a while talking about football with Eric and Mac. After that, once outside the Taylor´s, he had held her hand and surprised her with a quick kiss on her lips and a hug that made María think that the rumors might not be true after all. "Oh, I´d forgotten how charming and handsome he is, maybe I should not jump into conclusions before listening to him", she thought while he politely opened the passenger door for her.

But she had ended up alone and scared at a rest stop late at night after such a good start. Her hands were shaking while she was scrolling though the contacts on her phone. She was too upset to think clearly and that might help her focus on who she should call. Her parents were out of the question. She ruled out Tami, too, as she did not want Mac and Sue to know what had happened and she would tell them herself a watered-down version. She also knew that both Julie and Tyra were working. Suddenly the name "Billy" came up on the screen. She had been keeping her distance from him since she found out about her feelings but right then she felt she needed him. "Yes, Billy. He´ll understand", she thought while dialing Billy´s cell number. It went straight to voicemail. Maria sighed, hung up and dialed his home number. When she was about to hang up again, resigning herself to finally call Tami, a sleepy voice answered after a few tones. She cleared her throat and tried to put up a normal voice.

"Hi Timmy. Sorry I woke you up. I can´t get a hold on Billy on his cell, is he home?"

"Mars? Are you OK?" Tim asked while trying to see what time it was. María´s voice sounded weird. He knew it was her because she was now the only one that always called him "Timmy" (Billy and Jason only did very seldom, and despite all the noise their voices could not be mistaken with that of a girl), but she did not sound like her at all.

"Yeah…. Is Billy home?" She nervously paced around the parking lot trying to get a better reception.

"He isn´t, Mars, he´s hanging out with Mindy, celebrating his new job…" Then he heard a sob. María tried to hide it but it was clearly audible over the phone line. "Mars, what´s wrong? Where are you? All that noise?"

This was it. Billy was not home and probably would not be reachable for the next hours. "It's Timmy or Mrs. Taylor, I guess". "I am in a truck stop half way between Dillon and Westerby. You know, the big one with the orange motel and blue lights on both sides of the road?"

"What the hell are you doing there now? Wait, are you alone?" His drowsy mind was racing trying to figure out what was happening. Her next words were barely audible on the phone with all the background traffic and the bad reception. "Could you please come and pick me up?"

But he heard her and that woke him up completely. Obviously something was wrong and she needed help. "Sure, I´ll be there in 15. Wait inside the diner. Are you OK?"

"Yeah… I´ll be inside. Drive safe. And Timmy… thank you." Her voice broke as she thanked him. "Stay put, I´m coming", he said while grabbing the keys of his truck and heading out the door.

Twelve minutes later she saw him parking his truck beside the diner. She rushed out the door and they met on the sidewalk. She was soaked to the skin and her face and red eyes made it obvious that she had been crying. "Hey, it´s Ok, it´s Ok", he mumbled while he hugged her. As soon as she leant her head on his shoulder and felt his arms around her she started crying again. "Please, take me out of here", she muttered against his shirt.

They climbed on his truck and he turned the heat on. "Where do you wanna go?" He was looking at her frowning. This was not like her at all. "Don´t know, I can´t go home like this". He nodded. "Ok. First, get out of those wet clothes. There, in the duffel bag, help yourself."

Suddenly she started laughing out loud compulsively. "Hey…" he said reaching her left hand with his right one. She looked at him and realized that he just wanted to help. "Sorry Timmy, I know you want to help but if you seriously think that I´m going to change into your training clothes in your truck with you by my side…." He could not get away from his reputation even with a childhood friend who had been away for the last three years. "Hey, I won´t look! What kind of perv do you think I am?" She lowered her gaze. "Sorry Timmy, I didn´t mean to…" Obviously she had not meant it to hurt him. "No worries, I´ll drive while you change, ok? Eyes on the road, promise". He squeezed her hand and started his truck.

Once she had changed, trying her best to keep as much as her body covered while struggling with the seat belt, she took a deep breath. "Thank you Timmy. You´re right, this is much better". "I told you that number suits you" he said winking at her. "Where are we going?" Now that she was feeling better she was curious about where they were heading to.

"You can´t go home with those puffy eyes. It´s not raining now, we can spend some time outdoors before curfew." "Where?" "You´ll see, trust me on this?""Do I have a choice?" she thought while she was trying to erase from her mind the events of the last hour.

When they arrived at the cliffs several cars were parked here and there, lights off and fogged windows. "I can´t believe you brought me to the official making out spot in Dillon" she chuckled. "Don´t worry, we won´t stop here, we´ll go further on".

Once they arrived at the far end of the cliff, Tim turned off the engine and looked at her. "Come on, those eyes need fresh air. Let´s have a beer outside". "I don´t drink, Timmy", she said while exiting the truck and climbing on the bed. "I know, Mars, but you are sharing my beer tonight. Just a few sips. It´ll help you relax, you won´t be drunk".

They sat on the bed of the truck, leaning their backs on the cabin, listening to the soft music on the radio. It was dark except for the light of the radio in the cab. After a few minutes and a few sips of beer, Tim thought that she might be relaxed enough to tell him what had led her to be alone and scared in a parking lot in the middle of the night. "So, do you wanna talk about what happened?" She took the bottle from his hand and had a sip, a large one this time. "Promise not to tell anyone? Please?" she begged as she finished drinking. "Promise."

Stumbling over her words at first, she told him that she had met Jack after having dinner with the Taylors. When Tim heard Jack´s name, his body tensed. "I should've known he was involved in this", he thought. She said he had been very nice and that had left María wondering if breaking up with him was a good idea. "I had decided to break up with him but those first minutes together made me think that maybe I had rushed the decision…" But that had suddenly changed when she had noticed that they were heading to Westerby instead of Applebee´s, like they had planned. As she asked him where they were going, he said that his parents were not at home and they had the house all for themselves. At that point she had panicked and asked him to pull over. "That had happened before, you know, in the summer, at his house. He knew I wasn´t ready for sex and he tried, he… I… I was able to stop him then but it was never the same between us after that night. I became afraid of being alone with him", she confessed Tim taking some more sips from the bottle.

She also told him that after Jack had pulled over she had found the courage to tell him that she did not want to be alone with him, that she wanted to break up with him. When he had heard that he had been really angry and started to say horrible things about her. "He said that he didn´t know how I dared leave him, that I would be alone for my whole life. That I was the Ice Queen..." She started crying with the last words, and Tim took the beer from her hands, put it aside, grabbed her by her waist and seated her on his lap. Seeing her so vulnerable had shocked him and he did not know how he could comfort her, and he just did the first thing that came to his mind. "What else did he say, Mars?" He suspected this was just the beginning. She hid her head on his shoulder again and carried on while she cried. "That I was the one that pushed him to be with Molly, that she gave him what he couldn't have with me, that it was my fault that he is not playing well this season, that I should have stayed in Florida for the sake of us all, that I always make things complicated. That he couldn´t believe that I was fooling around with you". She was too embarrassed to look at him and he respected her privacy. He knew it was easier for her if she talked with her face hidden from him. "Did he say something else?" he mumbled into her ear caressing her back trying to comfort her. She started sobbing again. "Mars?" She hesitated at first, but then decided that there was no point in withholding what Jack had told her. At least not with Tim. "Yeah, he said that we won´t last, as no one, less of all you, wants to be with a frigid…"

She was now shaking and crying again. "I´m… I´m sorry, Timmy, I am behaving like a baby…" He could feel her tears through the soft fabric of his shirt. "You don´t have to apologize for anything, Mars". His hand had ventured under the hem of her t-shirt in an effort to soothe her and was tracing circles on her back. She instantly calmed down as she felt the touch of his hand on her skin. "You know that none of that is true, right?" he softly whispered. She nodded against his shoulder. "I know, but… regarding those rumors, do people really know?" For some strange reason Jack believing the rumors was more important to her than him calling her Ice Queen or, worse, frigid. "I mean, look what Jack thinks, and he´s supposed to know me well. Aren´t you worried about Lyla, what she might think? Maybe there's something we can do to try and stop those rumors…" Until Jack had mentioned it, it had never bothered her that people who really knew them could actually believe the gossip.

"No. Lyla should know better by now". He was starting to lose hope about Lyla. He had told her he loved her almost a year ago, and the chances of her giving up her Christian boy for him seemed to be slimmer every day. He really wished he could move on, and he thought he might have the way to do so. "I should move on, like she asked me to". His body had tensed as Lyla´s name came up and now it was her hand the one that had gone under the hem of his shirt and was caressing his back. His head was spinning. María had opened up to him, maybe it was time for him to do the same. The truth was that spending so much time together had made him realize that he would not mind at all if they were more than friends. In fact, he would really like that once he supposedly was over Lyla, but he thought he did not stand a chance and there was no point in risking their friendship for nothing. Until tonight that Jack was officially out of the picture. Maybe now he did have a chance despite he thought deep down that she was way out of his league. Timing sucked but she had asked about the rumors. "Sometimes I wish they were true", he whispered, hoping that he was not making a fool of himself. "What?'" María did not know what he was talking about. "The rumors, sometimes I wish they were true."

María couldn´t believe what he was saying. She raised her head and locked eyes with him. They could barely see each other in the dim light of the radio. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes I wish we were together." She could not believe what she was hearing. "What? … Why? We are friends..." She did not know where this was coming from. She was positive that she had never done anything to encourage him to take that kind of action. She rested her head on his shoulder again, totally confused, waiting for him to elaborate.

"You always bring out the best in me, you take me seriously." They were still caressing each other´s back and none of them seemed to feel awkward in that conversation. "Timmy, I´m sure anyone that gets to know you will do the same. That's not a reason to become more than friends. I never took you for the romantic type, but this is too… ". "He's just lonely", María thought to herself, trying to minimize what he was expressing.

But then he said it bluntly. "Mars, I like you. You´re kind, smart, beautiful and hot…" She could not believe this was happening tonight of all nights. There was no way out, and he deserved the same honesty he was showing her. "God, this is going to be difficult".

"I´m flattered Timmy, I am, really. Cards on the table?" she said. "I like you, too. Who wouldn´t?" She did like him, but it had nothing to do with love or romantic feelings. It was about friendship, shared experiences, companionship and, of course, physical attraction. But the thought of being more than friends with him had never crossed her mind until now that he had brought it up. And starting a relationship, whatever kind of relationship it might be, with Billy´s brother just after breaking up with Jack was just out of question. "But right now I´d rather we´d be just friends. What do they usually say in moments like this, it´s not you, it´s me? This is not one of my finest hours, really. And I know this is going to sound dumb, and I promise I'll tell you fully about it whenever I am ready. The thing is… I´ve feelings for someone else, Timmy, and it´s not Jack. Kind of platonic love, he´s completely out of my league, but still, I wouldn´t be… ".

He tilted his head to make eye contact with her and softly whispered "Is it Billy?" He could sense the surprise in her eyes and her cheeks quickly blushing despite the dark night. There was no point in denying it. She gulped and nodded. "Yeah, how do you know?" "How did I get from breaking up with Jack to confessing my feelings for Billy to Tim all in the same night?" "I just know, I´ve seen you two all my life". Suddenly a wave of realization washed over her and she hid her head on his shoulder again. "Does… does he know?" she mumbled against his shirt. She eagerly waited for his response while he took her chin and lifted her head. "No, no that I know of". "Please, don´t tell him" she begged quietly. "I won´t."

And they sat there in the dark for a while, María still on his lap, her face hidden in his shoulder and both caressing each other´s backs. Both their minds were racing. María could not believe that she had admitted her feelings for Billy to Tim, and that he knew already. Well, the whole conversation had been crazy, with them even admitting they liked each other. And Tim hesitated about telling her that sometimes he thought Billy might have that kind of feelings for her. He sensed that knowing that could help María but definitely it was not his place to tell her. Billy would kill him if he did, and he would be right to do so. And they were mere assumptions. When he had encouraged Billy to talk about it the night of his birthday, not a single word related to romantic feelings for María had come out of his mouth.

After a long silence, María´s right hand stopped caressing his back and reached his left hand to try and stop it from tracing small circles on a certain spot in her back. "Sorry, I thought it was relaxing", he apologized. "Yeah… I liked that… too much I think". She was looking down, completely flushed, trying to climb off his hold. He realized she was no longer comfortable on his lap and carefully helped her sit beside him. "Thank you", she said looking at him still blushing. "Anytime, McGill. I´d be happy to help you find some other spots that …" he murmured grinning at her. "I have no idea what you are talking about… I just thanked you for your help climbing off" she tried to explain herself. He chuckled. "Come on, Mars, admit you were enjoying it, not big deal." She then realized what he meant. "I… I was, I just didn´t know it could be like that…" Then it hit him that she had no experience in sex at all. He knew she was a virgin, she had told him herself, but he had not expected that she would be completely oblivious to any notion about sex at seventeen.

He held her hand again. "I didn´t mean to make you uncomfortable." "I know", she said squeezing his hand. "Could you please take me home before I embarrass myself even more, if that's possible tonight?""Sure, let´s go" he said standing up. "What a night" María thought again while she was climbing down from the bed of the truck. She had certainly forgotten about Jack for a while, but she was truly concerned about Jack's reaction (she was sure he would try to contact her again once his anger wore off) and the effect that that night's revelations could have on her friendship with Tim. The last thing she needed now was losing a friend. Definitely, nothing was like she had expected when she came home for her senior year, and much to her dismay she was starting to have second thoughts about her decision.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

The following morning Mac and Sue were astonished when they learnt that Jack and María had broken up. They knew that they were not seeing each other as much as they did in the summer, but they thought it was due to their tight schedule. They really liked Jack and according to them he was the perfect boy for María. She just told them that she was not in love with him and that it was pointless to be together. She gave no further explanation and her parents were surprised but never suspected there could be something else to it.

The previous night María had arrived home just before curfew. Both her parents were already in bed so luckily for her she just said good night from the hall and went straight to her bedroom. Had her parents been up then, they would have certainly found it weird to see her clad in football training clothes. She even had made up an explanation for that in case they would see her, but she just kept it for the moment her mother would eventually find those clothes in the laundry basket. She hoped that Sue would just take them as hers with number 33 on them, and she made a quick mental note to remember to give them back to Tim as soon as they were in her dresser.

Tim and María had been both quiet on the ride to her house. It felt like they had said too much while they were at the cliffs and now they needed to set up new boundaries between them. They had been really close friends while growing up, but they had not shared that level of intimacy since they were kids. And they were not kids anymore. So when they arrived to her driveway she undid her seatbelt, moved over to Tim and hugged him, whispering "Thank you for everything" and asking "Are we cool?" She was afraid of the consequences their conversation might have in the near future. Tim just mumbled "Yeah", smiling to her. When he tried to grab her hand she was already hopping out the truck and waving at him.

By the time she arrived home she had eleven missed calls and five texts from Jack. After he left the truck stop, he had been driving around trying to calm down, and he had come back to get María as soon as he realized that he had been a jerk. He had called her many times on his way back. But when he had gotten to the spot where María had climbed off this truck, there was no sign of her. He had looked around the parking lot and gone inside the diner, but she was not there either. And he had kept calling and texting her since then. She hesitated when she saw the calls and the texts. "He must be worried", she thought. But then everything that he had said to her earlier that night came to her mind and she deleted the texts without reading them and texted back: "Please stop calling/texting".

But he did not surrender easily. He kept calling and texting the following day and no answer came back from María. Jack was so desperate to contact her that he called her home on Monday when he knew that she would be at soccer practice. He politely asked Sue to tell María that he needed to see her to give her back some books and music CDs, and that he would be happy to meet her at Applebee´s on Saturday evening. After thinking about it long and hard, she showed up at Applebee´s on Saturday, as she felt she needed some kind of closure. She had been miserable all week and was having second thoughts about her decision to come home for her senior year, second-guessing herself after Jack´s harsh words. And to make matters worse, she blamed herself for the way their breakup had gone down. "I should've have done it weeks ago, I let it get much worse than it was" she thought. Even Tim's efforts to distract her had failed as she was trying to keep a safe distance from him in order to protect their friendship from their words at the cliffs. He was the only one who knew about the details of her breakup with Jack, but as the week went on Mac and Sue became more and more concerned about her. It was difficult to see her smiling, she was barely eating and purple circles were starting to show under her green eyes. So they were all relieved when after her meeting with Jack she had gone back to her old self.

Besides giving her stuff back, Jack apologized and said that he did not mean any of the things he had said a week ago. That he had been hurt and jealous. He even asked her for a second chance, claiming that he did love her. María accepted his apologies and softly said that she was not in love with him. Tyra and Julie were working that shift and both kept a close eye on their table, making sure that Jack was behaving himself while they talked, in an attempt to save María from a scene at a public place. María had not told them how they had broken up, but seeing how much she had been struggling all week they both assumed the break up had not gone nicely. Tim had made sure to be there too, sitting on a booth with Sarah, his rally girl, on the other side of the restaurant. Lyla happened to be just two tables away from him, but he barely noticed her or Sarah sitting beside him. His eyes were glued on María and Jack, or, more precisely, on María, ready to jump off his seat should he felt that she needed him to intervene.

Once the Jack "issue", like she used to call it, was over, María gladly settled back into her school, practice and tutoring routine. The Panthers had made it to the play offs and everyone in Dillon was delighted. Tim took his S.A.T.s and did well and that let her spend more time focusing on her last college applications. Neither of them brought their conversation at the cliffs up again and she was happy that nothing had changed between them since then.

Although María did not want to think about college yet, she had made up her mind. Her ultimate goal was to become a professional golf player and she was sure that UT was her path to the LPGA Tour. And it was not too far away from home. She knew that she would have to work hard, but everybody said that she had what it takes to become pro, so María was now determined to go to UT. As she had told Tami, it had one of the best golf programs in the country and it was not too far away.

When she shared her decision with her parents, Mac and Sue were worried that she might be ruling out some other good options for her, so Mac asked Eric if he could talk to her about TMU. Coach Taylor had been working there as an assistant coach for a few months the year before and maybe he could convince her to apply for TMU, too.

So when María knocked on Eric´s office door after soccer practice as they had agreed on the phone, she intended to politely listen to whatever Coach Taylor had to tell her about TMU and make no commitment at all about applying. Most of the players on the football team were coming out from the locker room and looked at her with curiosity and respect. Girls were a rare sight there, but besides being a girl she was the soccer team captain, just nominated for "Best player of the year", and also Mac's daughter. And she was Riggs´ girl too for many of the football players. She quickly opened the door as she heard "Come in" and she found Matt Saracen and Tim sitting across Eric´s desk. As captains, they often talked to the coach after practice like she did with Coach Roberts herself. Eric and Matt smiled at her, Matt´s smile brighter than ever ("I still can't understand why Julie broke up with him"), and Tim winked at her his trademark grin on his face.

"Em..Sorry to interrupt, Coach. Matt, Timmy…" she smiled back.

"It´s ok. We´re done here. Please think about that, boys. See you tomorrow at practice. Come on in, María, take a seat", he said while Matt and Tim turned to leave the small room. As they headed for the door where María was standing, Matt smiled fondly at her again and Tim touched her arm as he was passing by. It was the first time since the night at the cliffs that they had had any physical contact and it sent shivers down her spine. "Oh, God, what is this? And I am sure I am blushing, too", she thought as she motioned toward one of the chairs. Eric had not missed the interaction between the three teenagers, nor María´s reaction to Tim´s touch. He knew his daughter Julie and Matt were in good terms again, although he did not know if they were still in the friend zone, and he also was aware that Tim and María were lifelong friends and were close due to tutoring, but he could almost see all their hormones flying around the room. "I was right when I told Julie that teenager boys only think about one thing", he thought while he greeted María.

"So, María, how are you doing? I hear from my wife that school is going great for you and Coach Roberts tells me that you have been nominated for "Best player of the year" by the Board of High School Sport of Texas ….

"Yes, everything is going well, thank you. About that award, I think the chances are slim, but it's an honor to be nominated. Team effort, though. The team is doing a great season and the nomination itself is a reward for all of us." The truth was that María was really excited about the nomination. It was something that she had not expected at all and it was a gift from heaven, as she had known about it right after the "Jack situation" had been over. But she wanted to share it with her team and, of course, Coach Roberts. It was them the ones that made her captain and trusted her with a prominent role in the team when they barely knew her.

"Tami was right, besides talented, she is humble", Eric thought. "And what about golf? Mac tells me you hit the driving range every day."

"Yes, Coach, I have to if I want to keep my handicap and be eligible for a scholarship." She smiled. She truly liked Coach Taylor. She was well aware that he was the closest to a father that some of his players had and that he was a role model to all of them. She knew her father fondly liked him and Tim worshiped him.

"Speaking of which, you know that your parents are worried that you might be narrowing your college options just a little too much". She was a clever girl and there was no point in beating around the bush here. "Therefore, they want me to tell you about TMU and try to talk you into sending an application there before the deadline expires."

"I know, Coach, and I am willing to listen to you about TMU and I really appreciate the time you are taking to do so. But, with all due respect, first I would like to tell you about my reasons for being so adamant about UT." Eric could not believe he had a seventeen year old girl in front of him, she talked like an adult. He wished some of his players were like her and nodded encouraging her to go on.

"The only reason I am going to college away from Dillon is that everybody that knows about golf thinks that I might have a chance at pro golf. Otherwise, I`d happily stay at home studying somewhere I could commute in and out every day. Everybody thinks I should apply to the best colleges all over the country with my grades but I give priority to being home over everything else, except the possibility of becoming a golf professional player. I've been away from home three years, and I know what it feels like. I don't want to live on the other side of the country. That´s why I came back for senior year against all my teachers and coaches´ advice. And unless you tell me otherwise, getting into the LGPA Tour coming from TMU is not a real possibility nowadays, so if I don´t make it to UT, I´d rather stay at home and attend any close-by college."

Eric did not know what to say. She was right, there was no way she could eventually be on the LPGA Tour coming from TMU. Now he completely understood why she was being a little bit stubborn about her college choices. Having moved around the country for most of his adult life, he understood the need to be home and he felt that he could help her get her parents to understand it. He sensed she could use some help on that front as Mac had been talking about her college applications for weeks.

"What can I say, María, I think you are totally right and applying for TMU then may be completely useless. I can talk to your parents and explain it to them, if you want. I know they are worried, but after listening to you I really think they shouldn´t be."

"I'd really appreciate it, Coach. Thank you so much for your time and your concern." She was starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed by her parents' worry about her college choices, so Coach Taylor intervention was very welcome. That would most certainly help her focus again, as the last weeks had been exhausting with all the drama regarding Jack and college applications.

"No, thank you, María. On another note, I have been meaning to talk to you about Riggins but I never found the right time. I know you have a busy schedule." María´s body tensed and she rested her hands on her lap, trying to calm her racing heart. Eric did not miss the gesture. "Do they want me to stop tutoring him?" That thought made her sad. Almost without noticing it, he was again someone important in her life, he was her current connection to her life before Florida and it was easy to guess that they would not spend as much time together without tutoring. Her mind raced looking for reasons to keep tutoring him in case she would need to tell Coach about them.

"Don´t worry. I just wanted to thank you for helping him this year. For the first time since I´ve known him, he's focused on school and football and is doing an outstanding performance on the field the whole season. I don´t know how, but you're doing a great job keeping him on track. So thank you so much."

A huge smile lit her face. "You´re welcome, Coach. But I think you should congratulate Tim. He is the one doing well at school and football, not me. And it will mean a lot coming for you."

When María left and Eric was alone in his office, he grabbed his phone and called Mac. "Hey, Mac, just talked to María. She´s damn right about UT and TMU... Can Sue and you come over for dinner? We will discuss it, but, bottom line, she is damn right!... Eight, then?... Ah, and something else before Sue and Tami hear about it, is María still dating Byrne?... No, no, just curious, forget I asked".


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

The Panthers were going to State. Everybody in Dillon was planning their trip to Austin in a few days. All the football team and the boosters had gathered at the annual Panther Roast and María had been invited as the soccer team captain. She had a great time. She was seated at the captains´ table and spent most of the time talking to Bradley, who had taken over Matt's chair when he had joined Julie at her table just after his speech. Mac and Sue were with the rest of the coaches and their wives and were happy to see that María got along so well with the rest of the captains and the football and soccer players. They thought that being part of the soccer team had certainly been the right move for her, as it had provided her a unique way of becoming part of the school community in an active way after being away for three years. Readjusting could be difficult, and soccer had really helped her.

The following day Tim and María were studying together at her house after practice, as they usually did. Mac was over at Coach Taylor´s house watching football tapes, as they were busy having everything ready for State, and Sue was working an extra shift at the hospital. There was a flu outbreak, and they needed all hands on deck. Teachers were being supportive and they were easing the study work before State, as they knew everyone was focused on football and nothing else, so Tim and María had finished their homework early.

"Do you wanna watch TV while we order something to eat? I don´t think my parents are going to be able to come for dinner." María threw herself on the couch turning on the TV. "There you go, suit yourself" she said handing the remote to Tim who was still closing his books on the table. The way María sat down on the couch and let him choose what to watch was unusual to say the least. She loved reruns of TV shows and he knew that one of her favorites, "ER", was now on. He looked at her concerned while he sat on the other side of the couch. "What´s wrong?" She was now massaging her temples with both hands. "Nothing, just a headache. It´s been there all day and it´s getting worse." She looked tired, with dark circles under her eyes. "Did you take anything?" "Yeah, I did. I just hope it is not the flu. I´d hate to miss State." She was now covering herself with a blanket in an effort to get rid of the cold sensation she was feeling all over her body. He was looking at her frowning. This was not like her at all. She smiled at him seeing his concern. "Don´t worry, I´ll live."

After a few minutes watching a baseball game on EPSN, she felt she was getting colder despite the blanket. Her head was still pounding and she closed her eyes trying to relax. None of her remedies were working. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." She turned to Tim, he was completely immersed in the game like if it were the most important thing to him right then. "Timmy", she whispered. "Yeah?" he growled. His eyes were glued on the screen. "Can I…. can I get closer?" Her voice was low. He turned to her with a confused look on his face and he was surprised to see that María looked worse than a few minutes before, she was much paler. He then came to the realization that she was asking him if she could sit beside him. "Sure, come here" he said raising his left arm. She crawled and sat beside him, his arm around her waist and her head on his left shoulder. She felt the warmth at once, and relaxed her body against him. "Thank you, Timmy."

They sat like that for more than half an hour, Tim watching the game and María quietly resting beside him with closed eyes. "Feel better now?" he dared to ask fearing to break the spell. The night at the cliffs he had discovered that he liked being physically close to her, but they had been keeping their distance since then. "I do, thank you", she mumbled with her eyes still closed. The truth was that she was feeling much better. The cold sensation was almost gone and the headache had just become a slight pain.

"You need a boyfriend, McGill." As she heard the remark, her eyes fluttered open, she tilted her head and looked at him frowning. The spell was certainly broken now. "What´s that supposed to mean?" He tried to back-pedal. "Nothing, sorry" "Why did I say that?" He moved his arm and shifted her so she was now sitting on his lap, her head on his shoulder. "Wrong choice of words" he whispered in her ear. "It´s ok", she murmured back. She did not feel like having an argument right then.

Instead, with her face hidden against his shoulder, she suddenly felt the need to tell him something that she had intended to keep to herself. "Bradley asked me out". She could sense his body tensing as soon as she said it. "What?" She put her hands on his chest and looked at him, repeating it. "Bradley asked me out". "Bradley who?... Wait, 55?" "Yeah, that´ll be him." His mind was racing trying to figure out why 55 would ask María out. "But, when?... Why?" he asked moving his head in disbelief. María started to laugh at his reaction. "Well, I can think about a couple of reasons, and it was yesterday after the Roast." Tim remembered then that María and Bradley had been talking and laughing the whole time while in his last attempt to win Lyla back he was keeping a close eye on her table instead of on the interaction between them. He had promised himself that he most certainly would move on after that last try. He had even chased Lyla on her way to the ladies restroom, taking her to an empty room, where once more she had told him to move on after sharing few kisses, what had left him more confused than ever. What kind of game was she playing? When he came back to his table, he was so lost in his thoughts that he paid no attention to María at all.

"What did you say?" He was now looking at her steadily trying not to miss any of her reactions to his questions. "Nothing" she mumbled. "Nothing?" "I just froze when he asked. He said it was Ok, he would ask me again after State as maybe the timing was not right." Tim nodded and swallowed hard. "Are you going out with him?" He impatiently waited for her to respond. He had really wanted to ask her if she liked Bradley, but he was afraid of her answer. "No, and I am not going to wait until after State, I´ll tell him tomorrow. I should´ve said no in the first place. I don´t like him that way."

"Ok…" He relaxed and pushed her against his body again with his arm. Leaning her head on his shoulder once more she found the strength to be completely honest with Tim. "I think I froze because I was so flattered someone was asking me out after what happened with Jack. It had nothing to do with Bradley. It could have been anybody and I´d have reacted the same way. So childish of me… This headache hasn´t left me since I realized that. Thank you for helping me with it." Both her confession and the physical proximity to Tim were making her feel much better.

She was nearly falling asleep listening to his heartbeat sitting on his lap when he softly spoke again. He had been processing everything she had said and now he was wondering if he should say something after what she had shared with him. Finally, he decided to speak up, as he did not want to see at least half the football team asking her out while he just watched from the sidelines. Sure she was the daughter of one of the coaches, but he knew that was bound to happen sooner or later. And he had decided to move on from Lyla. "My offer still stands, you know?"

"What offer?" she asked back. "What I told you that night at the cliffs. I like you."

She sighed and tried to play it down, keeping her head on his chest. "Come on, Timmy, we've been down this road before. I'm not sure it would be a good idea." "Why?" She then moved from his lap and kneeled on the couch beside him. "I can´t believe you´re asking why…. Let me remind you that we both have feelings for someone else… That your friendship means the world to me, and I don´t want to risk it..."

He held her hand and cupped her face with his other hand. "God, with any other girl we would have hit her bedroom one hour ago. And here I am snuggling on the couch, holding hands and caressing her cheek." This was so different from what he was used to with girls that he felt clumsy, even like a rookie. "I´m done with Lyla and you said your feelings for Billy were platonic. We´ll be friends forever, no matter what. Could you please think about it?"

She tried to think about all the reasons she had not to be involved romantically with him. But her head was pounding again and she was finding it hard to focus with his hand caressing her face. "Those are not the only objections I have. This is not romantic at all. And you know I am not ready for sex and…"

Suddenly the front door closed and they heard Sue´s voice coming from down the hall. "Hi, I´m home!" Tim quickly let his hands fall from María and she moved to sit on the other side of the couch, pretending she was very interested in the game shown on TV. "Saved by the bell. Please think about it, Mars."

That night Miles called her. "Hey, María, how are you? Sorry it took me so long to call you back. Life is hectic here." She smiled, it was so good to hear his voice. "Hi Miles. Thank you for calling. Don´t worry, I know you´ve been busy with finals. How did those go?" Miles told her about his exams and college life. "This is great but I am looking forward to going home for Christmas. I know you´ll be going to your family ranch, but I´d love to see you before I come back here." María always spent Christmas at her family ranch near Dallas, but she hoped that this year they would come home a day or two earlier so that she could meet Miles. "I´d love to, Miles." "So tell me, how´s your senior year going?" María tried to recap everything in just a sentence. "Well, to make it short, I have a crazy schedule with school, soccer, golf and tutoring, my parents are going nuts about my college choices, as you know I broke up with Jack, and Timmy and I might be flirting. I think that is pretty much everything."

"So you are doing great, then." María shook her head in disbelief. "I think you didn´t hear what I said, Miles…" "No, I did get everything you said. And I'm not being sarcastic. You're very good at studying, golf, soccer and tutoring, your parents will always worry about you because they are your parents, your break up with Jack was totally predictable and Tim and you would make an awesome couple. Anyone who knows you well could tell you all that. So it is true you are doing great…"

"Well, thank you Miles. But, are you sure about Jack? And Timmy?"

"I am, María. We all knew that Jack and you were not gonna last once you were living back here, and it had nothing to do with you. And Tim and you are so similar in certain aspects and yet so different in some others that now that you're both spending a lot of time together no wonder you're attracted to each other."

It was amazing how Miles could vividly describe a situation just in a few words. And he knew both Jack and Tim very well. She focused on what he had just said about Tim. "Yeah, you are right Miles. Regarding Tim, I just don´t wanna be one more notch in his bedpost, I´ve heard some things about him that..."

"Come on María, we know him better than that, you´d never be that for him. You're not just some random girl he wants to hook up with, you´re one of his closest friends. Stop worrying about that. If you like him, go for it."

María sighed. "Ok, copy that. I will keep you posted. Wish me luck, I think I am gonna need it."

Miles started laughing. "Not that you need it, but good luck. I have to go now, you know how Tara gets when I make her wait." María rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do. Good luck with that! Take care and talk to you soon. Bye." She tiredly sat on her bed and left her phone on the night table. Her head was pounding again. Never in a million years would she have thought that one day she might be actually thinking about being more than friends with Tim, especially considering her feelings for his elder brother. She was well aware that most likely it would mean giving up all hope for an eventual future relationship with Billy, and she did not know if she was ready for that yet.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

The following day María cleared the air with Bradley. He was very understanding. She apologised for not being straight enough when he had asked her out. "I´m really sorry, Bradley. I should've told you I was not going out with you right then. I wasn´t thinking clearly" she explained. María had spotted him in the hallway and had asked him if he had a minute to talk. "For you, I have" he had said with a bright smile on his face. "I can walk you to your next class, if you want" he had hopefully added. "Thank you, I've free period now and I´m heading to the library." But they had found an empty classroom on their way there and figured that it was a much better place to talk privately than the hall to the library. As soon as they had entered it and closed the door, María started apologising.

And Bradley had taken it really well. "It´s ok, María. You don't have to apologise. I just hope I was not out of line. I never believed the rumors, but if you are dating Riggs I should´ve never asked you out" he said. "If that's the case, I should be the one apologising to you." María shook her head. "Why would everybody think that? Do we really look like a couple?" she quickly thought. "No, you weren´t, I´m not currently dating anybody, but I can´t go out with you. It wouldn´t be fair."

"So there´s someone on your mind, then…" he whispered looking at her raising his eyebrows. They had been in the same class since they were six years old until she had gone to Florida. During all those years they had never been really close but had successfully shared many assignments at school and had common friends. She really thought he was a good guy. There was no point in lying to him, but he did not need to know all the truth. No way she was going to spill her beans to Bradley now. She did trust him, but she did not want any more people to know.

"Yes, there is. So as I said, it would not be fair for you." Bradley nodded. "Ok. Lucky guy whoever he is. If you need anything, just say the word." As he was turning aroung to head for the door of the classroom, María grabbed his forearm and turned to look at him directly in the eye. "Bradley, under different circumstances I wouldn't hesitate to go out with you. And I´d be honored. You're a great guy." He nodded once more and reached for the door. "Thank you María." The sad smile she saw on his face as he was leaving the classroom made her feel bad, and, at the same time, relieved.

Once that was settled, María was looking forward to the trip to Austin. Not only was she going to be at the game for the first time (the prior times the Panthers went to State she was either too young to go or in Florida), but she would also have the chance to visit UT and meet the coaches and the rest of the golf staff. So two days before the game, Sue and María left for Austin.

María loved everything about UT. She had known the campus to be big, but she did not expect it to be so full of life. During those two days they spent a lot of time walking around and even had a look at the dorms she would be living in the following year. She also had the chance to meet all the golf staff, including an interview with James Colt, who was at the helm of UT women's golf program. All she knew about him was that he had been a professional player years ago and had to stop playing pro due to a wrist injury. But Coach Colt turned to be so much more than that. He was not only interested in María´s golf merits, he seemed to truly care about her studies and the expectations she had for college. He also told her that one of their biggest aims at UT was to make the students feel at home no matter how far they were from home. He said that they were positive that that was the only way that they could focus on studying and playing. In that regard, he informed her that most of their volunteer assistant coaches had been some of the students´ coaches before, and they had joined UT as their trainees had started college. He even encouraged her to propose any coach she would be happy to work with once everything about her scholarship is settled.

Maria had not expected college to be like that. Before this visit to Austin she was not looking forward to going at all, but after meeting the staff and most of the players she thought that maybe she would enjoy college after all. She intended to study something business related. She knew that even if she ever made it to the LGPA she would not be playing pro forever, and she thought that having a college education in business could come handy if that were the case.

Finally the day before the game had arrived and María and Sue were at the hotel lobby waiting for the team. Coach Taylor and her dad were the first ones to get off the bus and enter the lobby, and Matt and Tim followed them as captains. María knew that most of the players had attended a party just the night before (she had been invited herself) and she could see that it had been a good party according to their faces. "I hope for the team´s sake that they slept it off on the bus", María thought to herself. She had just greeted her dad when she turned around to look for Tim, as she wanted to wish him good luck in case she would not see him again before the game. The lobby was now crowded with players, family and friends. When she had just spotted him surrounded by cheerleaders someone bumped into her, nearly knocking her down. "Sorry, are you ok?" she heard while two strong hands helped her stand on her feet preventing her from falling. "Yeah…." She said while she turned around. It was Billy. "Hey", they both said. "Sorry M, are you ok?" he asked again looking concerned. "Yes, don´t worry." They exchanged a few words and out of nowhere Billy asked: "Are you doing something after dinner? We could meet for a drink at the bar and catch up. Congrats on the nomination, by the way. Tim told me." María answered quickly. "Thanks Billy, team effort. I´d love that, we haven´t seen each other since your birthday."

When he left towards the front desk to check in, two thoughts rushed into María´s mind: "Where's Mindy? Are they still together?" and "His left hand has been on my waist the whole time we have been talking!" She was over the moon looking forward to meeting him in a few hours, and she had completely forgotten about wishing Tim good luck for the game.

She was literally counting down the hours to meet Billy and did her best to hide it hanging around the stadium with Julie and Matt´s grandmother while the players were interviewed on the field. She then remembered about wishing good luck to Tim but he was busy now. He did try to make eye contact with her a few times but she seemed to be distracted and not paying much attention to what was going on with the team.

She had dinner with her mother, Tami, Julie and Gracie. They were really having a good time sharing old family stories but María could not help herself from looking at her watch every five minutes. "Is everything ok, honey?" Sue asked concerned. "Yes, Mom. I´m meeting Billy in a while to catch up and I don´t wanna be late." "Billy who?" Sue was so deep in their conversation that María´s mention of Billy caught her by surprise. "Billy Riggins, who else could it be?" Her mother nodded. "Oh, sure, honey. Tell him we say hi."

Finally it was eight o´clock and María walked into the bar looking for Billy. After a few minutes hesitating about what to wear she had discarded her usual jeans and chosen a navy blue skirt with a plain white t-shirt and tennis shoes. The skirt fell a palm above her knees and was short enough to make her look attractive but not too short to be flashy. It certainly enhanced her long tanned legs. She was so focused on looking for Billy that she did not notice the looks of admiration from most of the public in the bar. She panicked when she could not find him. "Maybe finally he is not coming." She sat on a stool and asked for a drink.

While María was waiting for him at the bar, Billy was nervously pacing up and down his room trying to make up his mind. He was trying to convince himself that there was nothing wrong to share a drink with a lifelong friend but deep down he knew that María was so much more than that and in some way he felt that meeting her for a drink tonight could even qualify as unfaithfulness, and certainly Mindy did not deserve that. "Why am I thinking that? That´s crazy." But now it was too late to back out as María would probably be already at the bar waiting for him. The idea of her waiting for him alone at a crowded hotel bar the night before State was the pretext he needed to grab his phone and leave his room for the bar.

He spotted her on the stool as soon as he came into the bar. She was looking at her cell phone, her long legs crossed and half her Coke gone. "God, she´s stunning." He stopped on his tracks to take in that sight. He knew he would cherish it and relive it whenever things go south. Over the last years he had learn to find solace in his happy memories, and he knew at once that this sight of María waiting for him was already at the top of his merry memories list. He took a deep breath and approached her. "Hey, M, sorry I´m late." She looked up from her phone and kindly smiled. "Hey, don´t worry, it´s Ok." Her green eyes were glowing matching her smile. "I hope that you weren´t thinking that I'd stood you up, sorry again." He ordered a beer and they moved over a quiet table by the corner.

They talked about almost everything. María told him about school, golf, soccer and college and Billy updated her on his new job and some ideas he had to start his own business once he would be able to save some money. He also thanked her for tutoring Tim this year, telling her that he had gone through hell for the last couple of years and that he seemed to be focused now. But she did not mention Jack and he did not mention Mindy either. Somehow, Tim had kept both of them in the loop with developments; Billy knew that Jack and María had broken up (he did not know the details though), and María was aware that apparently Billy and Mindy were doing great, but she wanted to hear it firsthand. Well, she really needed it. "How´s Mindy? How come she isn´t here? I thought she liked football." The question took Billy by surprise: "She´s well, working. She couldn´t make it here. She does like football, not like you though…".

"Was that a compliment? Or I'm just desperately looking for one?" But it did sound like a compliment to María, so feeling confident she braced herself for impact and asked him the question she never thought she would be asking him. "Are you in love with her?" He nearly choked with his beer and looked at her question marked on his face. María felt she had gone too far. "Sorry, Billy, I shouldn´t have asked you that. Forget it". "Hey, you don´t have to be sorry for anything, M. It´s just that I can´t believe we are actually talking about this…" Great, he still thought about her as a kid. "I am not a little girl anymore, Billy. I can have grown-up conversations, you know? I´ll be eighteen in less than two months." She was right, she was not a little girl anymore. Nor she looked like one, just the opposite. "I know, sorry… Answering your question, I guess I am." That sentence was a heavy blow to María, and she tried to react in the best way possible. She touched his arm and put on what she hoped to be a broad smile on her face. "That´s great, Billy. I am happy for you."

After that they kept on talking about football and the possibility of winning State again. By the time they realized it was getting late, many people had left the bar. They decided to call it a night. As they were entering the lobby they ran into Tami Taylor, who was holding a baby bottle on her hand. "Oh, hey y´all". "Hey Mrs. Taylor", they both said at the same time. "Have you seen Coach?" She seemed to be in a rush. "Yes, he is in the bar talking to Buddy Garrity. Can we help you?" María politely answered. "Thank you María, it's Ok. See you both tomorrow." "Good night, Mrs. Taylor", they said again in perfect sync. "Look at these two so attuned. They´d make a great couple despite the age difference", Tami thought while she rushed past them resolved to drag her husband out of the bar.

Billy insisted on walking María to the room she shared with her parents. He was feeling like a teenager walking her girlfriend home and he felt bad about Mindy again, and he could not understan why. And María was sensing that he was worried about something, and for the first time in her life she was nervous being with him. Not a word was said on the elevator or in the hallway, they just kept looking at each other smiling. She had never been alone with him since she had found out about her real feelings for him, so when they reached her door, she was quick to insert her card into the knob and with one of her hands holding the door open she turned to address Billy. "Thank you Billy, I had a great time. See you tomorrow." The open door prevented them from saying or doing anything that they could regret later, and Billy noticed she had done it on purpose and silently thanked her for it. "Smart girl. She´ll go places." He was so nervous that he did not think about the reason she might have to do that. "Yes, great seeing you. See you tomorrow." And with that she entered the room and closed the door, while Billy slowly paced back to the elevator.

Both her parents were up and she told them about Billy and that she was sure that most of Dillon inhabitants had been in that bar that night at one point or another. When she was about to get ready for bed she suddenly remembered that she had been so distracted about meeting Billy that she had finally not wished Tim good luck for the game. She was tired and all that she wanted to do was go to bed and rest for the following day but she knew that she would hardly find a chance to talk to Tim the very day of the game. So she put his tennis shoes on again and asked her father. "Dad, do you know Timmy´s room number?" She laughed at the astonished look both her parents shot at her. "I haven´t seen him for the last few days and I just want to wish him good luck for tomorrow. It´ll be just ten minutes". Mac also laughed. "Honey, you just scared me there for a moment. He´s on this floor, room 975." "Thanks, Dad, I will be right back."

She went down the hallway to room 975 and knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again and still no answer. "Great." She went back to her room and told Mac. "Dad, he´s not in his room. I guess they are all taking advantage of the time until bed check. Do you mind if I go again when I hear them coming?" "All right, honey." She took a book and sat on the closest armchair to the door hoping she would be able to hear the players getting to their rooms. Book on her lap, she started reading but she soon forgot about the book and started replaying her meeting with Billy in her head. After seeing him tonight, she had no doubt that he still considered her as a little girl and that he was in love with Mindy. She had been right to ask him bluntly about his feelings for his girlfriend. Now she knew. If she had ever hoped for something between them it was time to forget it and to let him go. Time to move on. He would always be one of her dearest friends, but there was no point in hoping for more.

She had been waiting for nearly an hour when she heard voices outside. She opened her door and saw a few players getting into their rooms and Tim and Matt coming up the hallway to their door, followed by Sarah, Tim´s rally girl. María stepped into the corridor and walked to them. Matt was the first one to notice her and warmly smiled. "Hey, María." As he heard Matt, Tim looked up, his attention instantly dragged to her legs. "Hey Matt, Sarah", she smiled back. Sarah had just stopped on her tracks. "Hi, María… I better get going… See you tomorrow guys." She turned around to the elevator while Matt and María said "Good night". María liked Sarah, she thought she was a sweet girl and she had always been nice to her. And María truly did not like the way Tim treated her sometimes. She knew it was none of her business but she had already pointed that out to Tim twice when he had been rude to her in public. Like now, he did not even acknowledge Sarah leaving. His gaze was fixed on María, and María knew that Sarah must be feeling horrible right now on the way to her room, even worse if she had heard Tim say "Nice skirt, McGill" before the elevator doors had closed.

"Hey Timmy, do you have a minute?" María asked while Matt was opening the door to their room. "Sure, come in." María started to walk to the door but hesitated halfway to it. Most of the football team players were now in the hallway and they seemed to be very interested in their interactions. "No, we´d better stay here…" Tim turned around and realized why María would not go into his room. "Ok, so what´s the deal with the skirt?" "No big deal, Timmy. Really. Thank you though for your appreciation." "Anytime, you look great." He was looking at her with his trademark grin and she felt she was blushing. "Great, what a night" she thought. "Listen, I just wanted to wish you good luck for the game tomorrow." He found her adorable, blushed and smiling to him. "Is she making a move? Finally?" he thought. Maybe she was considering his offer. "And what do I do now? And if I'm wrong and she just wants to wish me good luck…" he wondered. Yet again, she was making him feel like a fourteen year old with his first crush.

"Thank you Mars." She was wishing him good luck, so the least he could do was to thank her, regardless of the fact she might be making a move or not. He had good manners, right? And definitely this was not the time to be rude. He was sure she would not like that bad boy attitude.

Fortunately for him, she kept talking. "How have you been these last days?" They had not seen each other for the last three days, which was the longest they had been apart since school had started. He shrugged. "I´ve been ok, getting ready for the big game. How was UT? Did you like it?" She was surprised he had remembered about her visiting UT. He did not seem to pay much attention whenever she mentioned college. "I did, everything better than expected", and she told him about the campus and the golf staff.

"Cool." His voice was much lower now. He had been getting closer as she was talking about UT, and she had started to move backwards when she bumped into the wall behind her. He made sure there was nobody else in the hallway now and he stood right before her, so she was stuck between the wall and his body. She gulped. "Well, I have to go, I just wanted to wish you good luck. Have a great game tomorrow." As she was finishing her last sentence he leant both his arms on the wall and drew closer to her, their heads just inches apart and their eyes locked. She was starting to feel goose bumps all over her skin and he noticed it. "Do I also get a good luck kiss?" he whispered hoping he was reading her right. An image of Billy seeing her as a little girl and talking about Mindy raced María's mind while she looked into his eyes. "Time to move on" she thought once more. "Just not here." She cleared her throat. "Come on Timmy, my parents are just five doors away and the whole team is on this floor. Rain check?" His face lit up. He had been right! "Really?" María was blushing again. "Yes, but not here" she softly said.

They were still looking at each other with their heads close when the elevator doorbell rang and its door opened. "… I think Gracie Bell must be asleep by now. She was quite tired a while ago…" Eric and Tami Taylor stepped out of the elevator walking to their room. As they looked down the hallway they saw Tim and María looking back at them. They sure had heard the elevator and were now waiting to greet them. "Good night Coach, Mrs. Coach", Tim politely said. "Good night" Tami said back. "Shouldn´t you be in your room, son?" "Yes Coach" Tim answered heading to his door. "Good night then." When Eric and Tami had entered their room Tim turned around and said "Rain check". María waved at him and went into her room. She closed the door behind her and leant on it. "What am I getting into?" she thought.

At the same time, inside the Taylors´ room, Eric and Tami were getting ready for bed in the bathroom trying not to wake Julie and Gracie Bell who were both sound asleep. "Hey, Eric, has Mac told you anything new about María?" "New like what?" Eric was tired and the last thing he wanted to do now was to discuss Mac´s daughter life. He thought very highly of her and doubted there could be anything to be discussed, even less the night before State. He had a tough day ahead of him. "I don´t know honey, anything new about her. Has he mentioned if she is dating anyone?" Eric stopped brushing his teeth and turned around to face her. "Here we go. Please stop worrying about that kid. I´m telling you she doesn´t need you to."

He looked tired but Tami was not going to give it up. "I know that you have her in high esteem, hon, I do too, but I saw her tonight with Billy Riggins and they seemed to be so in sync that I thought there might be something between them… " He looked at her on the mirror. "Oh, Tami, they've known each other all their life, that doesn´t make them secret lovers or anything… " He definitely wanted to go to bed. María´s love life could be discussed any other time, and he thought Tami was exaggerating. "Yeah, I know, but now, what was she doing with Tim in the corridor?" Tami´s face showed an evident concern. "Oh, don´t tell me you see another romance there… They are friends Tami, and I may remind you that you paired them up for tutoring, so it's normal that they are close. And I bet they do study in fact, his grades have never been better. I don't think they spend their time fooling around…" Tami was nodding now. "Yes, I did pair them up. With your recommendation, by the way, and it's been a success for him. But I just don´t want her to get hurt, she doesn't deserve it."

Now she had his attention. That last line had hit him. "And what makes you think she may get hurt?" His wife smiled. "Oh, honey, sometimes you are too naïve to have a teenager daughter. What would you think if it was Julie the one hanging out with Billy or tutoring Tim?" He sighed. "Nothing, I trust those boys. Mac and Sue do, too. And I thought you did, Tami. Their parents did a number on them but they're both good boys. And don´t underestimate María, she can take her of herself. Now, can we just go to bed? I've a hell of a game tomorrow… "


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

This time they did not win State. They lost 28–30 against the undefeated South Texas Titans after a close game and a great second half. As it ended, Coach Taylor gathered all the players, their families and friends in the locker room and said that he had never been more proud of a team than he was right then, that they had played great football and that that was the game that people were gonna talk about for years to come. He finished his speech with a sentence that María would often remember for life: "There's not a single person in this room that's ever gonna be the same."

So this time there was no big parade in Dillon for the team nor big celebration. As the McGills arrived home, they started packing as the following day they were heading to Mac´s family ranch, near Dallas, for the holidays. Mac´s parents had passed away a few years back but all the siblings and their children still gathered at the family ranch for Christmas. María loved it there, she loved life on a ranch and every time they visited she had the chance to spend time with her five cousins, all boys from 29 to 12 years old, and their friends. The eldest one, Hank, was getting married in six months and she was sure her aunt Lizzie would be already going crazy with the arrangements for the wedding.

The MacGills spent almost two weeks on the ranch, and it was a great break for María. Finally she had to admit that she did have a tight schedule for her senior year so a few days away for everything (and everybody) were welcomed. And her family and their friends were a great distraction, too. So when she was back in Dillon after the New Year she was ready to enjoy the last months of her senior year as much as possible.

Her parents were having dinner out with the Taylors, as they had not had the chance to do it during Christmas. Julie was babysitting Gracie Bell and had asked María to go over and have a girls´ night but María had an early start at the driving range the following day and had declined. She was looking forward to seeing Julie but she wanted to be focused on her first day on the range again.

She was unpacking when the doorbell rang. She was not expecting anyone and hoped that, whoever it was, would not keep her up late. She opened the door and it was Tim. "Hi Mars, how are you?" she moved over to let him in and closed the door. "Good to know that you´re alive." She had called him five times while she was in Dallas and he had not returned any of those calls. She led him to the sitting room and sat on the couch, gesturing him to do so. He sat beside her and tried to hold her hand, but she moved it out of his reach. "Sorry, Mars." She sighed. "Is that all you have to say? I called you five times, didn´t Billy tell you? And I left messages, too. I was worried about you, Timmy." Tim had injured his shoulder playing State and when she had left for Dallas she did not know the extent of his injury.

"Sorry, Mars." He tried to hold her hand again and this time she let him hold it. "Please, Timmy, don´t play games with me. What happened?" She thought that something may have happened while she was in Dallas. Billy was clearly trying to cover up for Tim and not to hurt María when she asked him what was going on during one of those calls. "He´s kind of busy, M. He´ll tell you when you come back." She could not believe what she was hearing. "Busy on school break just after State? Billy, please, is he Ok?" "Why is Billy doing this? He, of all people…" she thought. "He is" he mumbled into the phone. But that was all the information she got from Billy.

"I´m sorry, Mars. Billy told me you were worried. Just two days after State Bradley threw a party at his lake house. I was taking painkillers for my shoulder and I drank a lot that night. I felt lonely and I guess there was nobody there to stop me from drinking more and more. The next thing I know, I woke up in Sarah´s bed the following day. Her parents were away for the holiday and we had the whole house for us, so we kept on with our private party for a week or so, I´m not sure, most of it is blurred…" She was staring at him in disbelief while he was still holding her hand. He kept talking. "Billy knew where I was, I called him when I woke up the first day, but I asked him not to tell anyone, especially you. Don´t be mad at him. I knew you'd call and I wanted to tell you face to face…"

She tried to keep calm. "So you are telling me you spent Christmas and New Year in Sarah´s house, drinking and who knows what else?" He nodded. "Yeah. I don´t remember much though…" He could not bear her gaze and was looking down. "Oh Timmy…" She literally had no words. "I know you are mad but…." She shook her head. "I´m not mad, I´m just sad." She deliberately avoided the term "disappointed", which perfectly described how she currently felt. But she was well aware that being a disappointment to people who cared about him was one of Tim's bigger concerns and he had not dealt well with that in the past. "Please look at me. How are you?" He looked up and locked eyes with her. "Mostly ashamed, I screwed up the moment you walked out from Dillon. How was it on the ranch?"

María smiled for the first time since he had showed up in her doorstep. "Great. I love that life. It was a little bit hectic though with the wedding coming up in a few months." "And your cousins?" Now that she was smiling Tim felt better. Good thing he had managed to change the subject. "They're well, brought some friends over for the holiday, so we all had a great time. You´d have loved it. We were…."

As soon as he heard the word "friends", his body tensed and she stopped listening to María. "Friends? Of your cousins? I bet at least one of them tried to make a move on you.""What was that? Did I just say that? I came to apologise and I´m being a jealous jerk…" he thought confused.

And he was not the only one. María looked at him confusion written all over her face, he was still holding her hand. "Why does he care? He´s spent more than a week with Sarah in a drunk blur." Instead of confronting him, she chose to tell him the truth. "Actually, one of them did. Adam García, 20, very handsome, a straight A student and, don´t laugh please, QB1 in my cousin Ralph´s team at college. Really nice guy. But he wasn´t very successful because despite being charming, I kept thinking about a certain fullback back in Dillon the whole time I was there." It was the truth. While she had been in the ranch and for the first time since she had found out about her true feelings for Billy, he had not been her first thought when she woke up every morning. Instead, Tim had. Of course her feelings for Billy had not faded a bit and she had been worried about Tim, but the fact was that she had somehow manage to put Tim first in her thoughts.

He squeezed her hand, she smiled and he slowly leant in for a kiss, but she moved her head backwards. "Not now, please Timmy" she whispered mustering all her self-control. He backed off a few inches and let her hand go. "Sorry, Mars, you can´t expect me not to kiss you if you say something like that." This was all new for him, but he was sure she was all in the night before State. Maybe he had misread her? But he had heard her words clearly.

She gulped and searched for his hand. She felt the need to clarify where she stood. "I know what I said the night before State, and I really meant it, but now, yes, I may be mad at you. When I said that I wasn´t expecting you to be MIA for two weeks the moment I left Dillon. We've been down that road before, but back then we were friends, I was fifteen and living far away when I never heard back from you. Now I know you were going through a hard time then. But this is completely different. I'm not fifteen anymore and we are talking about being more than friends, which is something I take very seriously. I thought you were serious about it too but now … I don't know. I need time, Timmy, but I am all in. If you aren´t, please tell me and we´ll just pretend all this never happened. But if you are, please give some time."

She took a deep breath as soon she finished her last sentence. He felt lost again. No girl had ever asked him for time before. Time for what exactly? He was positive his usual lines and moves would not work on María. But he liked her, and he felt she was worth a try. Tim answered her in a few seconds, but they seemed hours to her, and for the thousandth time in the last month, she wondered if she was doing the right thing pursuing a relationship with someone she was not in love with, no matter how well she liked him. And the fact that he was Billy´s brother was not helping either. "I´m all in, Mars. Take all the time you need, I´ll be here." "Thank you Timmy." She queezed his hand. "Now, can we seal this deal with a kiss?" he said grinning, and she playfully smacked his arm with her free hand. "I thought you were not gonna be pushy…" she laughed. "A boy has to try…" he said winking at her. He held out his hand "Deal?" "Deal" she firmly shook it.

They were looking at each other when María cleaned her throat. "Hey, Timmy, I have an early start at the range tomorrow and I still have to unpack, it is not that I am throwing you out but I could really use the time…" She was afraid that if he stayed a little longer she would give in, mad or not mad. Tim noticed it and laughed while pulling himself off the couch. Definitely his usual tactics and lines with girls did not work on María. He still felt like a rookie around her in that regard. "Yes, ma'am, I get it". They headed for the front door and he turned around when they reached it.

"About the range tomorrow … can I go with you? I could really use the exercise and the company...but I understand if you just…" All of the sudden he had become shy and was again looking down. He knew María took her golf training very seriously and he was afraid that she would not let him in that part of her life. Maybe he had just made a mistake asking her. "I´d love to, Timmy." He smiled and looked up when he heard her response. "Don´t be so happy just yet. I have to be there at 8 am, probably till noon. Ok?" She was afraid that would make him back off, but it did not. "Absolutely, I´ll pick you up at 7:45 sharp. Don´t be late, McGill."

And with that they had fallen into an easy routine for the last days of the school break. Basically, they sought and enjoyed each others' company, so as a result of that they were spending the whole day together. They would hit the range or even the course early in the morning, head back to María´s for lunch and spend there the afternoon doing homework. Tim had not done any studying at all since State and now María was helping him to catch up. Most of the days they had dinner with Mac and Sue but the last day before school started they grabbed some food from the Alamo Freeze and had it out at the cliffs, sitting in the bed of his truck and talking about their expectations for their last months in High School. That afternoon they had met Miles and hearing him talk about college made both of them realize that soon enough they would be living a very different life, and none of them was really looking forward to it.

Nothing had happened between them. Tim knew that María needed time after his Christmas fiasco and was determined to let her set the pace. And María just needed more time to forget about her disappointment. She felt that in a way he had failed her even before they were together and that scared her and made her wonder if he was ready for it. And she also thought that thinking about a relationship with Tim with no sex involved was not realistic at all. And so far she had not changed her mind about that. "Well, I´ll cross that bridge when I get to it, if I ever get to it." For the time being, he was doing his best to win her trust back, he had a feeling that was what she needed time for, and she was happy to let him do so.

Even thought they were still just friends, people close to them started to think that now they looked much more like a couple than like friends despite not showing any public display of affection. Billy clearly noticed the change, they would be together all day long, even on school break, not just for tutoring, and he was puzzled to find that he was jealous, truly jealous. He thought that it should be him and not Tim the one at the range or the course with her, like it used to be years ago, and he realized then that it was useless to try and fool himself. The truth was that he did have feelings for her, strong ones and not the sibling kind he had had when they were kids, and those feelings were not likely to go away any time soon. He regretted not having been straightforward when Tim had asked him if he liked María the night she was over for his birthday. He knew that if he had told Tim he would have respected that and now he wouldn´t be driving her around and playing golf with her all day. It was not Tim or María´s fault. "Too late now, I don´t even know if she feels this way about me, and pursuing that now would not be fair to Mindy nor Tim". But despite his best efforts to drag her out of his mind, he started dreaming about her almost every night, and when he was in bed with Mindy and closed his eyes he had to be careful not to call her M. At least it was a good thing their names both started by M, he usually thought. That would make it easier to have a way out in case he called Mindy M.

Mac and Sue had also noticed the change. Tim was now a constant presence at their house at all times, and María played golf with him every day. Although they genuinely liked him and were happy that finally María had someone to train and play with, they were worried that they might be more that friends. They trusted him, but he did have a reputation with girls and women. María had been so sad about the whole story with Jack that they did not want her to go through that again. So when María arrived home from the cliffs that last evening before school started, Mac was waiting for her on the couch ready to find out what was going on.

"Hi Dad" María said while sitting beside him on the couch. He was watching the 2006 State Final tape, and she knew he liked to do that when something was worrying him. "What´s wrong? You are watching the 2006 State tape…" He turned around and looked at her. "Hi María, I just wanted to talk to you now that your mother is not at home, a little father-daughter chat…" Her body tensed, she had a feeling she knew what her father wanted to talk about.

"Ok. If I had known you were waiting for me, I would have come home earlier, dad." She thought this was going to be about Tim, and she was right. Mac told her that Sue and he were worried because Tim and María acted like a couple now. "Is there something beyond friendship going on between you two, sweetheart?" "No, dad, there isn´t….we are friends." Explaining to her father that they were currently friends but were considering being something else was just out of the question. She tried to convince herself that she was not lying to him, just not telling all the truth.

"But you are now spending a lot of time together, not just tutoring, he even plays golf with you." She never thought that her parents might be worried about that. "Dad, Tim and I have been playing golf together for many years…" "But you weren´t nearly 18 and he didn´t have a reputation with girls and women back then…." María was confused, she was sure her parents did like him. "I thought you liked him, Dad, I never thought that the idea of me dating him would freak you out."

Mac took a breath and smiled at his daughter. "Maria, you know we like Tim, we really do, and we like Billy as well, it has nothing to do with who they are. We know they're good people, we've seen them grow up and overcome a terrible family situation, and that speaks very highly of them. But we've also seen you during your break up with Jack, and we don´t wanna see you go through something like that again."

She sighed. "And you think that something like that is gonna happen if Tim and I start dating …" "Well, yes, that's what we´re afraid of, María. " "Maybe it is time to let them know a little bit about Mr. Perfect Jack", María sadly thought. "Don´t worry dad, I'm not dating Timmy. He is a friend, a dear one, he helped me a lot through the break up with Jack, who, by the way, turned out to be a real jerk. And both Mom and you liked him very much."

Mac was not expecting that and was truly surprised by her comment about Jack. "María, what happened? We didn´t know…. I am sorry sweetheart…" Now she had to give him something, at least a small part of the reasons for the break up with Jack. "It´s all right dad, among other things there was another girl, I didn´t tell you because I didn´t want you to worry and I was embarrassed about it…" Mac was now astonished. All that had been going on in María´s life while she was living under their same roof and Sue and he had no idea.

"Honey, you had nothing to be embarrassed for. We didn´t know…" He was speechless. For the first time since he had started talking to María that night, he wished Sue was there with them. "I know. Don´t worry, at the time Timmy helped me. And he is helping me now, it´s not easy coming back home when all your friends are gone to college or lead a completely different life from the one you remember with them."

"Then I´m glad Riggs is there for you, María. Your mother and I just don´t want you to get hurt." María nodded and saw the chance to pave the way just in case Tim and her ended up dating. "I know, dad, but let me tell you that if I had something with Timmy I'd know exactly what to expect. I haven't been here for the last three years but I've heard about him in that regard. As you say, he has a reputation. That didn´t happen with Jack, it was all a surprise, a bad one. That´s why it was so hard."

"Ok, then. What can I say? Sometimes we worry too much, you´ll be our little girl forever, you know? But we trust you, María, we really do, and we are very proud of you. I´m sorry if you felt uncomfortable talking about Riggs and Jack, I didn´t mean to." She smiled. "I know you trust me. I´d never feel uncomfortable talking to you. I love you dad" Mac hugged her. "Love you too, sweetheart. Now, would you like to watch this incredible game with me? I still can´t believe we did win State the very season Jason got injured…" She nodded. "I´d like that very much, dad". She knew how much he enjoyed watching that game.

Late that night, before going to bed, she got a text from Miles. "Great seeing u today, María. Tim and u look happy together. Sometimes it´s wise to listen to ur heart. U´d make an amazing couple. Promise I´ll write soon. Take care. Love, Miles xx".

"Oh, Miles, if you only knew… I can´t listen to my heart, that would lead me to Billy". She thought about telling Miles about Billy, but when she had half her text written she deleted it. "What´s the point in letting him know? Billy has his own life very far way from mine and Miles would be worried. And I have to move on." Little did she know that Billy was now struggling with his feelings for her the same way she had been doing it with hers for him for the last months.

So she started writing again: "Great seeing u too, Miles. Yes, I´m happy when he´s around, u noticed that, but not sure yet… I´ll keep u posted. Drive safe and take care. Love, María xx". And she pressed "send".


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

School started the next morning and as soon as María crossed those wide doors to the hallway she felt like she had been there the day before. She was looking for her English notes in her locker when she heard a high-pitched voice behind her. "Hi María. Do you have a minute?" "Lyla Garrity, what would she want?" They had been in the same class in middle school but were never close at all. For Lyla, María was just a tomboy that was incredibly annoying as she had even better grades than hers (María was always first in her class and Lyla therefore had to settle for second), and for María, Lyla was just the type of girl she had nothing in common with, as she would spend hours shopping, talking about clothes and make up and boys, avoiding all kind of sports except to have a good look at the players if they happened to be male. But somehow María always felt a little ugly and underdressed beside her.

Now, a few years after that, they shared most of their classes again and still were not close at all. Lyla had been first in her class while María had been in Florida and now that she was back Lyla was second again, and she was not dealing well with that. And now Tim was a new addition to the equation. Lyla would never admit it, but she was jealous of María, as whatever she had with Tim was something Lyla herself had never had with him. So they would always be polite but somehow avoided each other. One thing had changed, though: María no longer felt ugly or underdressed when Lyla was around.

She put on her best smile and turned around. "Hi Lyla, how are you? Sure." Lyla smiled back. "Mrs. Taylor has asked me if we could meet her at her office just after our first class. She said it'll be quick, we'll be on time for the next class." María could not find the reason for Mrs. Taylor to see them both at her office. "Of course, I will be there" María said while closing her locker and walking to her English class. As they were in the same class, they walked down the hallway together while people turned around to look at them. They were the two hottest senior girls according to the opinion of most of the male students in Dillon High. Lyla was completely aware of it, but María could never have imagined it. And they both acted accordingly: Lyla was showing off with every step and María was just walking down the hall thinking about Mrs. Taylor, absolutely oblivious to all the attention they were gathering. Tim spotted them from the far end, he was running to his locker trying not to be late but immediately got distracted by the two of them walking together. It was a magnificent sight. He would have never thought that given the case he would not pay any attention to Lyla, instead fixing his gaze on María and the way she was casually walking while all boys and most girls turned around as they were passing by.

True to her word, Mrs. Taylor just kept them in her office for ten minutes after their first class. She was preparing a report for the School Board on possible improvements for the senior year program and she intended to complete it with an input from the pupils. She felt it important that their opinion could be heard. And nobody better for that than the two best students of senior year. She asked them to work together and draft a memo that would be included in her report. She needed it by the end of the week. "I know, I hate to ask you on such short notice, but the Board request just came in. I know you both have a tight schedule, especially you, María, but I'd really appreciate it if we could meet the deadline."

"We will, Mrs. Taylor, don't worry" María said looking both at Tami and Lyla. She did not want to let Tami down; she would help her even if Lyla did not want to, she would happily work on her own. "Yes, we will" Lyla said back. She also wanted to help Mrs. Taylor. She had always been nice to her. She had helped her greatly when her story with Tim had gone public two years ago, and this was her chance to help her in return. "Good, thank you both." As they exited Tamis office, they agreed to work together in the library every afternoon after school.

"Hey, Timmy, do you have a sec?" Tim was surrounded by most of the football players on their way to the cafeteria. María had been looking for him since she had been with Tami and Lyla. Tim turned around when he heard Marías voice. She never had lunch at school. "Shouldn't you be going to the range by now?" he asked frowning. "I can't today, my dad had to go to Midland."

"Ok, don't worry, I'll give you a ride." She did not want to bother him, she just wanted to tell him that this week their tutoring schedule would change. "No, it's ok. But I need to talk to you, please." He stared at her noticing that all his friends were really interested in their conversation. "Ok." He took her arm and led her to the doors. Once they were outside, he walked to his truck. "We can talk while I drive you. I know you hate missing practice. Come on," he said opening the passenger door for her.

He started the engine and left the parking lot for the road. "What's up?" he asked. "Mrs. Taylor asked Lyla and I to write a memo on possible improvements for the senior year program. Deadline is Friday and we will be working on it after school until then. So I'm afraid we will have to start later than usual, around five thirty? Do you mind? I'm sorry Timmy, but this just came up and I really don't want to let Mrs. Taylor down." He looked at her for a second and fixed his eyes back on the road again. "Ok, no worries, go and help Mrs. Taylor, she's one of the good ones." He kept his gaze on the road and it was hard for María to know what he was reaaly thinking.

"Thank you Timmy, we can study after dinner if we need to. I'm sure my parents wont mind" she said while Tim parked his truck once they arrived at the range. "It's ok, Mars, really. And …" he grabbed her hand and gently stroked the inner side of her wrist, "thank you for all your help studying. I don't know if I've ever said that, but I really appreciate it. Now, show me how you hit those clubs." She was so distracted by the effect of his hand stroking her skin that she nearly fell when she hopped out his truck.

They barely made it back on time for the first class in the afternoon. That had happened all the times they had been at the driving range lately: they were so engaged competing with each other that time seemed to fly by. While Tim was not worried at all, María panicked when she realized she could be late for the first time the only day that her parents were not driving her. They always said that they trusted her and her greatest concern was to disappoint them and not to live up to their expectations. "My parents will kill me if we are late." Tim tried to calm her down. "Trust me, we won't be late. But if we are, just blame me." Luckily for her, finally they were not late and María attended her advanced Spanish class thinking that she had not enjoyed herself this much at the range since she used to be there with Billy. There, Billy again; somehow he always managed to come to her thoughts. And she was thankful that her Spanish was very good; otherwise she would have been in trouble in class as she was completely distracted when her teacher, noticing that she was not paying any attention at all, deliberately asked her about the difference between "grabar" and "gravar" that he had just explained a few minutes before.

María and Lyla worked hard on the memo all week. It had been a little bit awkward at first, but they soon found some common grounds. They were both brilliant students and their ideas and concerns started flowing before long. They were shocked to find that they worked well together and that they were actually having fun. Mrs. Taylor was amazed to have the memo on her desk on Thursday afternoon, one day before deadline. And she was pleased to see that it was excellent.

After meeting with Mrs. Taylor, María and Lyla came out of the school into the parking lot talking excitedly about their memo. Tim was waiting for María by his truck. Until recently, he would have approached Lyla and talk to her, probably trying to convince her to be with him again. But instead of that, he stayed by his truck and just nodded saying "Lyla". As she still had not gotten used to this new behavior toward her, she frowned and just said "Tim", saying goodbye to María and going straight to her car. María noticed her reaction and Tims serious face.

"How did that go?" he asked María in a low voice as they were pulling away from the parking lot. "Great, we nailed it. Mrs. Taylor was very pleased." She was still excited about it. "Good" he nearly growled. "Are you ok, Timmy?" His eyes were fixed on the road, like every time something related to Lyla came up. "Yeah." She was not buying it. "Sure?" she insisted. "Sure", he grunted. She knew for a fact there was no way to get him to open up when he was like this. She wished there was something she could do to help him.

Later on, while they were studying at María's, she could not refrain herself from asking. "Did I do something wrong?" She knew that he was goodhearted and he would not like to know that she was feeling bad with his behavior. "You?" His eyes were on the book on the table. "Yes, me." He was still looking down. "No, why?" "Because since you picked me up at school you've barely talked to me and nearly grunt every time I try to talk to you. Could you please look at me while I'm talking to you?" He raised his head and looked at her. "You did nothing wrong. Now, would you let me focus on this book?"

Well, Tim Riggins willing to focus on a book, definitely he wanted to avoid the subject. As his tutor, María should be happy he was so interested in doing his homework, but she knew he was just trying to hide something, and she was positive that it was related to Lyla. "God, he seems to be ten sometimes. I cant believe I am really considering being more than friends with him. "

Yet the thing was that she was indeed, and she did not like the idea that Tim would still be hung up on Lyla. And the fact that he would not talk to her about that made her think that. María had never asked him about his story with Lyla, how he got involved with her while she was Jasons girlfriend just after the accident that left Jason in a wheelchair, but María knew that he had had strong feelings for her since then and had done almost anything to be back with her. And now that María was seriously considering being more than friends with him she was afraid that some of those feelings were still lingering. "Which is not fair at all as I have that same kind of feelings for his brother" she tried to convince herself, but she still suspected that the story between Tim and Lyla and her feelings for Billy were not comparable at all.

It had been a hard week and finally it was Friday. María was looking forward to arrive home and throw herself on the couch and do nothing but to watch TV until bedtime. She was tired. It was the first week of school after the Christmas break and working on the memo with Lyla had only made it more difficult to her to adjust back to her tight schedule. One of the rally girls was throwing a party at her house as her parents were gone for the weekend but she was not going. Tim had spent most of the week trying to convince her to go, but she found the idea of a bunch of footballplayers and rally girls mixed with tons of alcohol not alluring at all. Tim had insisted on it, claiming that he knew that Julie and Tyra would be there, which María already knew, but she had declined. And the day before he had been too busy dodging her questions about his mood to insist again.

She just had to make it through soccer practice to finally get home. She hoped that Coach Roberts would not keep her long after practice. "Hopefully, she would be tired too." As soon as they started with some repetitive drills on the field, Marías mind began to wander and she found herself thinking about Tims behavior the day before. His words while they were studying could be counted on the fingers of one hand and he had not stayed for dinner, mumbling a quick "I have to go, see you tomorrow" as soon as he finished his English paper. And they had not seen each other today. She could not understand what was going on. Was it just Lyla? The thought that he might be trying to put some distance between them was like a slap on her face.

She was completely distracted when she tripped on the field. She was quick enough to shift her body while she was falling but she could not avoid falling on her left arm. The pain in her wrist was overwhelming from the moment she fell and her cry could be heard throughout the field. She knew she had, at least, sprained her wrist, and while she was trying to get up she was praying that it would not be broken.

Coach Roberts and her teammates ran towards her as soon as they heard her cry. They helped her sit down. Her left wrist was already turning purple and she could barely stand the pain. Once she was up on her feet, Coach Roberts took her to the locker room to gather her things and drove her to the hospital. After a few minutes waiting in the ER, they rushed her to the x-ray room and her mother was waiting in boxes for her. Perks of having a mother who was a nurse at this hospital. The doctor came in with good news: her wrist was not broken. But she had sprained it badly, so she would have to wear a bandage and a splint for at least three weeks. And, of course, no practicing sports at all during that time. She tried to keep her spirits up but the timing could not be worse. She would miss at least two tournaments and she hoped that that would not mess up with her admission for UT. She had worked so hard to be there that she could not believe that there might be a chance to lose it all just because she had been distracted on the soccer field. Tears of rage were threatening to pour from her eyes and she did her best to keep them at bay.

As she got home the pain was starting to wear off. The painkillers that she had been given at the hospital were kicking in. Finally she was resting on the couch but it was not the way she had wanted it to be. Right now she would rather get ready for a football party than stay home with a sprained wrist and a three non-sport weeks ahead of her.

She was falling asleep on the couch when she heard a soft voice beside her. It was her mother talking to her but she was groggy from the painkillers and she was having trouble focusing on her voice. "Hey, sweetheart, Tim is here to see you. Are you Ok?" "Yes, Mom, I was just falling asleep" "Well then, now that he's here I'm gonna run to the store. I won't be long, but call me if you need anything, Tim."

"Will do." Tim sat on the floor beside the couch, his head just inches from María's. "How are you?" he softly asked. "Fine, at least it's not broken" she whispered back. "Good news, huh?" She tried to nod. "Yes… no, I can't practice any sport in three weeks and I'll miss two important tournaments." Her tone was both harsh and groggy, and she sounded like a little girl pouting.

Tim smirked at the thought of dealing with a little María. "Its not funny, Timmy." She was feeling awful and the last thing she needed was Tim making fun of her. "Sorry Mars, I wasn't laughing at that. It's just that youre so cute pouting like a little girl…" "Has he forgotten about yesterday?" María could not believe he was acting like nothing had happened, even making jokes.

"You are making it worse, Timmy… and weren't you mad at me yesterday? You barely talked to me." Clearly she was under the effects of the painkillers, and Tim found her adorable like that. "I'm sorry, it had nothing to do with you, it's just… I'm trying to get used to ignore Lyla every time I see her…"

That comment helped her to bring up her concern. "What are we doing, Timmy?" "What?" "What are we doing?" "What do you mean?" "Oh, whats the matter with him? Why is he playing dumb?" She had trouble thinking and speaking, she could feel her mind going really slow.

"You know what I mean, Timmy. We're kind of playing a dangerous game here while we both have feelings for someone else. And yet I am distracted all day thinking about you …" He was smiling again. "Are you?"

"I am. And dont you dare kiss me now…" He chuckled and raised both his hands. "I won't, I promise. But Ill end up kissing you if you keep saying those things, Mars." Once more, he felt like a rookie with her and he did not know what to do. Luckily for him, she shifted on the couch and sat down, but the room started spinning around her and she grabbed his arm trying to keep her balance. "I'd really like that, but right now the room is spinning and I'd like to be able to remember it afterwards. It is not an everyday event that Tim Riggins kisses you, you know…"

He chuckled while holding her by her waist with both his hands. "Yeah, I know, but he may be willing to kiss you more than once…" He was now caressing her cheek with one of his hands while holding her steady with his other hand still on her waist. "Well, well see, I don't remember him as a good kisser, though." He laughed. "Maybe he's improved…" and María's was too groggy to think twice what she was about to say. "Oh, yeah, I've heard hes had a lot of practice." When he heard that, he gently dragged her body down from the sofa and hugged her. "Are you worried about that?" he whispered in her ear. "No, I trust him." "That's my girl" he whispered again.

They stayed hugging like that for a while, Tim sat on the floor and María on his lap, until he held her in this arms and put her back on the couch. Sue would be home any minute and he could sense that she would not be too happy if she found them like that. "Take some rest. I'll be with you till your mother comes back." But by the time he finished his sentence she was already asleep.

As María had expected, the three weeks that she had to spend without exercise were quite hard for her. She was so used to it that she was constantly frustrated and even sometimes in a bad mood. She could not understand why she was not dealing well with it given that she had expected it. "I should've been prepared for it." She tried to hide it from her parents because she did not want to worry them, but they had noticed it and did their best to help her.

Tim also noticed her cranky mood and was really supportive, but he was also strict when one day she tried to bribe him to drive her to the range at lunch time. "Come on, Timmy, just for a while. I promise I'll just be on the putting green."

He could not believe she was determined to ignore her doctors orders. "No, Mars, you can't. Remember what your doctor told you." She was now leaning on his locker preventing him from getting his books for the next class. "Please, Timmy, I won't hurt myself, I promise. I do need it. I'd drive myself if I could…" He could see how much she needed it and he hated to say no. "No, sorry Mars, you can't even drive, you'd hurt yourself…"

She was so frustrated that she was not getting a "no" for an answer and just blurted out what she thought would be a no brainer for him. "Timmy, please, if you take me there I promise I'll be nice to you afterwards. I mean really, really nice, nicer than you can even imagine… We can go to your house and…" She was looking straight into his eyes and speaking slowly in a low voice, trying to make sure he understood what she was implying. And he did, the way she was looking at him and saying it left no doubt.

Until that very moment, he had not known he was capable of such self control. "Very tempting, McGill, but still it's a no. No way I'd let you hurt yourself. But I'd love if you come home with me and we…" She just turned around and started walking down the hallway to her own locker, leaving him in mid-sentence.

When they met for tutoring that afternoon, it was raining and he was waiting for her inside the cab of his truck. As she hopped in and closed the passenger door, he handed her a big box of chocolates. She stared at him with a confused look. She had wanted to die when she had realized what she had been willing to trade for a drive to the range. She felt awful and she intended to apologize the minute she saw him, but he was first to speak, chocolate box in hand. "Hey, Mars, I know it's not even close to the way you feel with a golf club, but this helps me when the need of a drink hits me hard."

Now she was feeling even worse. Not only had she crossed the line, but he still wanted to help her and trusted her enough to share his drinking problem with her for the first time. Of course she knew about it, but he had never addressed it before. "Hey, Timmy, thank you" she said grabbing the box. "I am really sorry about earlier. It's not how I was raised or how I want people to think of me, least of all you. I should've never said that. I overstepped all boundaries. I'm not dealing well with this lack of exercise… I feel frustrated all the time and … Thanks for saying "no" no matter how hard I was pushing." He held her gaze and smiled. "No worries, Mars, its Ok."

"Are we cool then?" she hopefully asked. "Yeah" She was buckling up when she heard his voice again. "Just to be clear, thank you for not taking me to the range? or, thank you for not having your way with me…?" As he noticed how she was blushing he just said "Forget it, you're welcome", and started the engine heading to Marías house.

Meanwhile, Billy was completely oblivious to her injury. Had he known, he would have certainly reached her to assure her that everything would be all right no matter how badly she was feeling, as he had been down that road before. But the fact was that he did not know about it. When Tim got home every evening after tutoring and dinner at Marías and Billy felt the urge to ask him about her, he would just make that need go away trying to convince himself that the less he knew about her current life, the faster his feelings for her would disappear.

But as much as Billy would strive to avoid asking Tim about her, she was always on his mind. And spending as much time as he could with Mindy and drowning his sorrows in alcohol were not helping, either.

And on the other side, lately Tim would not talk about María with Billy. First, he was afraid that if he told Billy that he wanted to be more than friends with her he would laugh at him, claiming that María would never take him seriously and he would end up hurt once more. But secondly, sometimes he still thought Billy might have some kind of romantic feelings for her, despite he had told Tim that his only feelings for her were totally brotherly, and, frankly, he was scared about the possibility of finding out about it for real. Because, if it was true, what should he do? Tell both of them, arrange a blind date (Tim Riggins as a matchmaker for his brother and his best friend/ new love interest, life can always surprise you…), or just back off out of respect and let them find their own way together if they were meant to be? But then María would like to know why he was suddenly backing off …

Definitely, it was much better not to know. He was positive he would not be with María if he knew for sure that Billy did have feelings for her, and he had asked Billy straightforward and his answer had been crystal clear. That was all he needed, but sometimes he could not help feeling that so familiar feeling of guilt as he saw Billy drunk when he got home almost every evening. "He's a girlfriend who's clearly in love with him, a new business of his own…, then, why is he drinking more than ever?" But every time he asked him, he got the same response: "I'm fine, Timmy. I've got everything under control."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

But, besides frustrating María, her sprained wrist also allowed her to live and even enjoy part of the school life that she was missing so far. As she was not going to the range at all, she was having lunch in the cafeteria for the first time since school had started, and she was amazed to see that it was a microcosm itself. As days passed on, she had started enjoying it. The way people interacted, sitting on a certain table, sometimes wishing to be sitting somewhere else, the looks from one table to another… it was like having a completely different insight about school. She couldn't help but laugh when she noticed about the different tables. Of course, there was the football table, the louder one, with the cheerleader and the rally girl tables by its sides. And the basketball table, always looking to the football table as if they would love to be allowed to behave like them. Also the freshmen tables, on the far end, far enough not to bother any of the older students. And all that could be called "the standard tables", the largest group, where pupils just sat in amicable fellowship, as if they were not part of the theater of life that the cafeteria turned into at lunch time.

The table where María usually sat was one of those standard tables, always with Julie and Tyra. They liked to sit not too far away from the football table, so Matt and Landry could easily go from one table to another. Matt and Julie were back together and they were doing their best to spend together as much time as possible after all those months they had been apart, and Landry found it hard to be with his teammates when he had the chance of being with Tyra. Now that she hoped she would be cleared up for sports that very same afternoon, María was sure she was going to miss lunch at the cafeteria. Who would have thought it? She liked to have time to chat with her friends in a relaxed atmosphere instead of being in a constant hurry.

"Thank you for your help with the tray, Tyra. If everything goes ok this afternoon, I won't bother you with it again" María said as the three girls were sitting down at their usual table. At first María had thought that she would not need any help despite wearing a splint, but the second day she had lunch there she had to admit that she should accept the assistance her friends were offering her. The last thing she needed now was to fall down in the middle of the cafeteria while trying to hold her tray with one hand.

"You're welcome, María. So you are being cleared today? Back to the range every day then?" Tyra would certainly miss María at lunch from now on. She liked how she was able to empathise with her friends´ problems no matter what, always emphasizing the positive aspects and providing much valid personal insight. She found her to be very good at analysing the pros and cons. "Wow, she must be great at crisis. I wish she had been here these last years", she usually thought. She really liked having her around.

Yeah, hopefully. I'll have to wait a few days before going back to the range, but, yes, I don't even want to consider the possibility of an extension. This lack of exercise is killing me." As she was saying that most of the football team sat on their usual spot. Matt and Landry waved to the girls, and Tyra did not miss the way Tim smiled and mouthed "Hi" to María, who nodded and smiled back at him.

"What was that?" she could not help saying. "What?" Julie was completely distracted looking at Matt since he had walked into the cafeteria and she had not noticed the warm exchange between Tim and María. "Yeah, what?" María was also distracted looking at Tim. During the last days she had discovered that she liked to watch him interact with his team mates off the field, pressure free. In fact, to her dismay, she liked to watch him whatever he might be doing. And the noisy crowd in the cafeteria gave her a unique chance to watch him without worrying about him noticing it.

"That, exactly that" Tyra said looking at her intently. María turned her head and looked at her, still with a dreamy expression on her face. "Oh, my God. You too?" Tyra kept her gaze on María who did not have a clue as to what she was talking about. "Sorry, not following" Julie chimed in. Sometimes it was hard to focus on the conversation in her table while Matt was looking at her from the other table. "Me neither" María was really enjoying the view and did not understand what all this commotion was about.

"Seriously, I don't understand the pull football players have on you both. The minute they come into sight you only have eyes and ears for them" Tyra said moving her head. María just smiled. "Well, Tyra, let me remind you that Landry is also on the team." That was an undeniable fact. "Yes, he is, but I am not drooling when I see him." María and Julie shared a surprised look, and Julie was the one to talk. "No, you aren't, but he is the minute he sees you, so please let´s not talk about drooling or anything like that."

Tyra nodded. "Yes, you may have a point there, sorry I said that. But this wasn't about me, nor even about you, Julie. It was about you, María." "Me? I think I'm the only one here who is not dating a football player." She was laughing now but Tyra was not dropping it. "Not yet. I just saw the way Tim looked at you when he came in, and how you have been staring at him with dreamy eyes since he sat down at his table." "Busted", María thought. She immediately blushed. Tyra lowered her voice. "So, it's true then? There's something going on between you two?"

Julie had now stopped watching Matt and was looking at María eyes wide open. María smiled when she noticed two pairs of eager eyes waiting for her answer. She sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. Nothing has happened and, frankly, I am not sure if I want it to happen. I think I like him but it is much more complicated than that. I'm afraid he might be still hung up on Lyla, and if it happens it would probably mean not having any chance at… never mind, as I said, it's complicated."

Tyra smiled and patted her arm. "Welcome to my world, María. And get ready because I know that look. That's his look when he really likes someone. I haven´t seen it many times. So if you like him back, enjoy the ride. Nobody knows him better than you do."

"Do you really think that?" Tyra knew him well too, and María really appreciated her opinion. "I do.""Well, thank you, as I said it's complicated but…" Tyra raised her hand and interrupted her. "One last piece of advice, though. I hope you've changed your mind about sex. He's a really good candidate for your first time, believe me."

María nearly choked with the water she was drinking and blushed again. She came up with the first thing she could think of. "That's good to know, Tyra, thank you." And she tried to change the subject at once. She could not believe they had started talking about her wrist and had ended up getting sex advice. "Are you going to the party tonight?" Sarah, Tim's rally girl, was hosting a party at her house that night, and, of course, most football players were attending it. "Yes, we are all going. Are you?" Julie was quick to reply. She could sense that María was not comfortable at all talking about Tim, even less about sex with him. "I don't know. It's not my favorite plan really."

At that point a few of the football players got up from their chairs. While most of them headed to the doors of the cafeteria, Matt and Landry came up to the girls' table and sat down. Tim followed them and stood by María's chair. "Hi guys. See you at the party tonight." He put his hand on her shoulder, slightly squeezed it and turned around for the doors. They all noticed the gesture, and Tyra was the one to speak. "That, I've never seen that before. You must be really special." Matt and Landry looked at each other. "What's going on?" María, who was blushing once more, began to nervously laugh. "No, please, not again."

As expected, that afternoon she got the "all clear" from her doctor, along with a list of exercises she needed to strengthen her wrist. It had healed properly and she was ready to resume practicing sports. She was so excited when she left the hospital that she ended up going to the party. At least that was what she liked to think rather than admitting that the fact that Tim had called her twice to convince her to go had anything to do with it.

He had picked her up and joined his teammates as soon as they had arrived at the house. She had wandered around looking for any familiar faces and soon she had spotted Tyra and Julie sitting down on the deck. Matt and Landry were also with the football team, surrounded by cheerleaders and rally girls, and the girls had exited the house looking for fresh air. They were not expecting to see her at the party and they hugged her when she showed them her wrist with no splint or bandage. María was happy to spend some time with both of them. Last summer she thought she would be hanging out with them regularly, but their shifts at Applebee's and their on and off relationships with Matt and Landry plus María's tight schedule had made that almost impossible. So she really enjoyed it when she had the chance to be with them outside school.

"This calls for a celebration!" Tyra said grabbing beers from a nearby cooler. María hesitated when she handed her a bottle. "Just one. To celebrate. I'll be ok", she thought. They made a quick toast, "To María and her wrist", and she took a deep swig. She liked the taste and she was thirsty. While she was showing Tyra and Julie the mark the bandage had left on her skin, Bradley joined them with tequila shots on a tray. He asked her about her wrist and by the time she realized Tyra and Julie were no longer with her she was holding her third beer and was chatting with Bradley sitting by his side on the deck´s steps.

It was the beginning of February and it was quite a warm night. And the more she drank, the warmer she felt, and the more she drank again. As she was sitting down on the steps, she was not noticing the effects of the alcohol on her. Suddenly she felt someone sitting down beside her and a big hand on her knee. She stopped talking to Bradley and turned around ready to face whoever had dared to do that. When she did, she found Tim smiling at her.

But his smile turned into a deep frown as soon as he locked eyes with her. "How much have you drunk?" His voice sounded angry but she was feeling euphoric and paid no attention at all. She kept smiling and slurred "Hey, you. Where were you? I´ve missed you…"

He took her hand and started again, this time in a much nicer tone. "Hey, slow down. I'm here now. How much have you had?" She moved her hand away. "Were you with Sarah?" she asked with hurt eyes. He did not like where this conversation was headed. He grabbed her hand again and started caressing the inner side of her now healed wrist. As a result of being in a bandage for the last three weeks the skin there was more sensitive than normal and even under the influence of the alcohol María could feel goose bumps all over her body. Noticing that she had calmed down, he softly spoke again. "No, I was with the team and then looking for you. How much, Mars?"

She was having trouble thinking straight with the booze running down her blood system and Tim's hand on her wrist. "Honestly, I don't know. I remember having a third beer but that was a while ago… I think." Tears threatened to flow from her eyes as realization washed over her. "Sssssss, it's ok. Tequila shots too?" he asked as the tray with the empty tequila shot glasses was just behind her.

"No, I wanted to, but Bradley here wouldn't let me." He nodded to Bradley who had turned when his name was mentioned. "Good. Can you stand up?" he said raising from the step. She began to laugh. "Sure, Timmy, I am not that…." She tried to stand up and she had to sit again. As he had expected, she could barely stand up.

"Listen, Mars, we're getting out of here, stand up slowly. Come on, let's go" he said holding both her hands and then walking by her side towards the dark far end of the garden, his arm around her waist. His truck was parked on the other side of the back garden door. When they reached it, he gently leant her on the wall and entered the lock combination. "How do you know about this door? How come you can actually open it?"

She had drunk too much but she did not miss the fact that he knew his way really well around Sarah's house. "Do I really need to answer that?" he whispered while he took her in his arms and closed the door with his foot behind them. "No, sorry" she mumbled back with her head on his shoulder. He managed to open the passenger door of his truck while he was still holding her and sat her on the seat. He was trying to buckle her up when she took his hands. "Please, don't, I can't go home like this." He sensed her fear and kissed her temple in an effort to reassure her. "I know, everything's gonna be ok."

When he sat behind the wheel and looked at her, he began to have second thoughts about taking her to his place, as he had originally planned the minute he saw she was in no condition to go home. Billy might be there and surely enough he would start asking questions he didn´t have answers for. Besides the fact that probably he would give Tim hell for not taking care of her properly. And he could guess that María would not be happy either knowing that Billy had seen her like that. But he also knew that she probably needed tons of strong coffee and water, and even a cold shower, as that was the only way that María could make it home tonight without being grounded for life. Sure she did not care about being grounded, but he knew her well enough to know that disappointing her parents and losing their trust would kill her. Definitely, he preferred a third grade interrogation from Billy to making her go through that.

By the time they arrived to his house, María had fallen asleep against the passenger door. "Maybe she has not drunk that much" Tim hopefully thought. He was not comfortable at all with the idea of getting María under the shower. "It's official, I act like a rookie with her." If she was drunk enough to need a cold shower, she would probably need someone holding her, and that was not the way he had pictured sharing a shower with her for the first time.

He carefully opened the door and carried her on his arms to the front door, where he knocked with his foot. Billy's truck was parked in the driveway so he was home. After a few knocks a half naked Billy finally opened the door to find Tim with María in his arms. He tried to put on a mask on his face while jealousy ran through his veins.

"Hey, Billy" Tim said while carrying María to the couch and gently lying her down. Billy could not help himself joining him by the sofa. "What are you doing? Is she Ok?" he shouted. "Ssss, keep your voice down, let her sleep. She drank at the party. She can't go home like this." Billy sat down beside the couch and softly took her hand in his. Tim did not miss the way Billy was looking at her and holding her hand. "I can't believe you let her drink like that. What were you thinking?" Tim could feel Billy was very angry at him. "I wasn't with her. I found her like that."

"That's how you take care of your girlfriend? It's María, Tim, not any random girl you are screwing…" Then it hit him, Billy was not only mad, he was terribly jealous. "She's not my girlfriend, Billy. Would you mind if she were?" There, finally he had asked again. At that very moment, Mindy rushed out of Billy's room to find María sleeping on the couch and Billy holding her hand and caressing her cheek. As she did, she also heard Tim´s question despite the fact that they were whispering, so she turned around and went back to Billy's room, doing her best not to slam the door. Her unexpected entrance into the living room prevented Billy from answering that question, but the look he saw in Mindy´s face made him wish Tim had taken María somewhere else that night. "Take care of her, good care, you hear me? I need to talk to Mindy."

An hour later María woke up when she noticed someone touching her shoulder and whispering into her ear. "Come on, Mars, time to wake up." As she opened her eyes, she saw Tim's worried look. "How're you feeling?" She felt very tired and had a massive headache, and she did not remember coming to the Riggins' house. "Better, I think" she answered in a very low voice. "What time is it? I've late curfew but I don't want to miss it…" He chuckled, even still half drunk she was concerned about rules. "We have time, but we have to make sure you are all right first. Here, drink this" he said handing her a large cup of black coffee. "I know you don't like it, but drink it." "Yes, sir" she said taking small sips.

She was starting to remember everything: the party, the heat, the drinking, Tim asking her how much she had drunk. Although some memories were kind of blurred, she could remember vividly asking Tim about Sarah and him carrying her in his arms to his truck. She started blushing and worry was written all over her face.

She stopped drinking and looked at him. "Timmy, I'm… I'm afraid I don't remember everything…" She was panicking now and he tried to calm her down. "It's ok, Mars." Her concern was still evident. "But, did I say or do anything inappropriate? I mean…. Did I make a fool of myself, apart from getting drunk at a party?" She was looking down, completely embarrassed.

"No, you didn't. And you were a good drunk"… She looked at him surprised. "A good drunk? I didn't know there was such a thing…" He chuckled. "You did what I told you, no arguments, and, believe me, it's quite unusual when wasted."

Then a very clear memory hit her. "I do remember asking about Sarah. I'm sorry, Timmy, that's none of my business. Now, could you please take me home? I think I am Ok. I'm tired and I have to start exercising my wrist tomorrow morning." Tim smiled at her. He liked how responsible she was, but sometimes he wished she would cut herself some slack. "Again, everything by the book." "Sure, come on."

Later that night, when Tim came home from dropping her off, he openly confronted Billy about María, saying that he did like her but would immediately back off if Billy had any kind of romantic feelings for her. Tim was sure that he had seen jealousy on Billy's face earlier that night despite he had been trying to hide it, pretending to be angry at him for not taking proper care of her. Of course Billy was angry, but he was also jealous, and Tim knew him too well to miss it.

But once more, Billy insisted that María was like a little sister to him and that he was happy with Mindy, that she might be the one for him. That was exactly what Billy had been trying to convince himself about since State, and what he had told Mindy a few times she had asked about María, the last one this very night when he had run to his room after her. They had been there for more than two hours, and Billy did his best to explain to her again that María was just like a little sister to him. "Come on Minds, I'm sure Timmy's dating her. You think I'd let him do that if I had feelings for her?" He had never felt worse in his life, he could not believe he had said that out loud. But that line made the trick and finally Mindy had seemed to be convinced that Billy´s feelings for María were not romantic at all. So when Tim confronted him Billy knew almost by heart what he had to say to convince him.

And he even had an answer ready when his brother asked him about his drinking. "It's just stress from the new business. Everything is expensive and takes a lot of time, I've barely started. Everything's good, Timmy. You just focus on school and football, ok?" And Tim believed everything his brother told him while they shared a six-pack of beer on their couch, like old times. All his doubts were suddenly dispelled in a blur of brotherhood and beer.

It would only be weeks later, while recalling this particular conversation with Billy, that Tim would realize that it never crossed his mind that that night his brother just told him what he really wanted to hear, and he just accepted it as the truth because he actually wanted to believe it. He never thought that Billy would be so desperate to lie to him about that, given the implications it might have for all of them.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

When she arrived home that night, María managed to get ready for bed without her parents noticing anything different from any other night with late curfew. She was really upset about the drinking at the party and could not believe she had been so close to disaster. And she did not know that Billy had seen her sleeping it off on their couch. If she had known that, she would have felt even worse, should it be possible.

Had it not been for Tim, she would have gotten into a great mess. Definitely, she was not in love with him, but the truth was that she felt happy and somehow safe with him and she thought that maybe it was time to let him know that she was ready for more. She still did not know that the heart rules over the mind.

She stayed at home for most of the weekend, resting, studying and doing her wrist exercises. It was hard at first, as it hurt like hell, but she persevered despite the sharp pain. She had to do it if she wanted to hit the range by the end of the week. Finally she had gotten the official letter from UT with her admission, and she wanted to get back in shape as soon as possible.

She was not alone at home. Tim spent the whole Sunday at the McGills', doing homework and watching a movie with María, watching football with Mac and joining all of them for dinner. She deliberately avoided any physical contact with him. No sharing pencils while doing homework, no touching arms when passing by, no sitting together watching the movie… She definitely wanted more than friendship from him, but after the party she felt the need to talk to him first. He wanted to make sure that their friendship would not be at risk. Tim was the last link to her "pre-Florida life", as she called it, and she could not afford losing him. And right then she was too tired to talk to him. So by the time he left the McGills' most of her muscles were hurting from the tension and she felt completely frustrated. "I'd better find the right time to talk to him soon."

Although she had to wait a few days to go back to the range due to her wrist exercises, she was able to resume soccer practice that Monday. She was eager to finally put an end to that lack of exercise stage and was the first one on the team to get changed and be on the field that afternoon. When they were starting the warm-up, Coach Roberts approach her. "Hey, McGill, Mrs. Taylor just called asking you to go to her office now. Don't bother to get changed." "Just when we were about to get started…" was her first thought as she was leaving the field. But when she was going down the hallway, trying to silence the noise caused by her cleats, her mind was already spinning. "Did I do anything wrong?...Does she know about the party?"

As she reached the office door, she tried to put on her best smiling face and knocked. She heard Tami saying "Come in" and as soon as she opened the door she saw Tami and Billy sitting across her desk, both looking at her. She was completely disconcerted. Seeing Billy there was the last thing she had expected. "Maybe it's just a coincidence and he's here for something else". She tried to regroup as fast as she could.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Taylor. Coach Roberts told me you wanted to see me. Hi Billy" she managed to say smiling. She was standing by the door in her soccer gear and her messy hair bun and she found herself thinking that she wished she was wearing something else. She had never been worried about the way she looked, but since State she had noticed that having Billy around had that effect on her. "Yes, come on in María, have a seat." She sat on the empty chair beside Billy and put her hands on her lap, trying to convey a quiet semblance. But her heart was racing and she was doing her best to keep her legs still. The fact that Billy had not stopped looking at her from the moment she opened the door to the office was not helping her either. "If he keeps looking at me like that I won´t be able to concentrate on whatever it is that Mrs. Taylor wants to tell me."

"Well, thank you for coming María. I won´t keep you long, I know you have soccer practice now. You must be thrilled resuming it after your injury? How's your wrist, by the way?" She tied to calm down and politely answered Tami's question. "Good, thank you. I got cleared on Friday." Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Billy´s stare had turned into a questioning look. She could not refrain herself from looking back at him for a second, and she saw true worry on his face. Her heart skipped a bit and she hoped they were not in Mrs. Taylor´s office but somewhere else where she could tell him how hard these last weeks had been.

"That's good to hear, María" Tami happily said. "Well, to get to the point, I called for you because Billy has found out about several colleges trying to contact Tim to offer him a scholarship and, apparently, he's not returning their calls or answering their letters. Since Tim and you study together, I was wondering if you knew something about that."

María was genuinely surprised to hear about that. It was true that they never talked about college and that he had never mentioned any school in particular, but she had taken it for granted that he was in touch with them. "No, Mrs. Taylor, I don`'t know anything about that." She spoke firmly and convincingly, and Tami smiled at her. "Please, María, try to remember, maybe …" María smiled back at Tami, and looked shortly at Billy before addressing Mrs. Taylor. "Honestly, college is not one of our favorite topics, and Tim has shared no information at all regarding that with me. With all due respect, Mrs. Taylor, I think you should ask Tim."

"Oh, I love the way this girl speaks and never loses control about anything" Tami thought. "Thank you for being honest with us, María. Billy has already asked Tim about it, but he just hedged. That's why I called you". María nodded. "I understand. I can ask Tim myself, see what he says and…"

But she did not have time to finish her line. "Thank you M" Billy chimed in. María looked at him and they both smiled. Tami was starting to get the feeling that this casual meeting would have been much productive if Billy and María had been on their own. It was clear that they shared a special connection. She had already sensed it the night before State, when she run into them leaving the bar at the hotel, and she could sense it now. Once more, she wondered if at some stage they had been or they would eventually be more than friends despite their age difference. Sue had never mentioned anything about it, beyond both the Riggins boys and María being close friends while growing up, but she knew for a fact that that kind of connection usually ended up in something else.

"Yes, thank you María, we'd really appreciate that. We'll move on from there. That'll be all for now, I don't want to keep you away from soccer practice." María smiled and stood up from the chair. "Thank you, Mrs. Taylor." She turned to Billy. Again, he was looking at her in that strange way, she had never seen that look on him before and she could not figure out what it meant. "See you around, Billy" she said smiling. "See you, M."

She headed for the door, opened it and leant on the hallway wall as soon as she had closed it. "What was that? Why that look? What's going on with Tim?" After a few seconds she started walking down towards the far end of the hallway on her way to the soccer field. There was only one thing she knew would calm her nerves right then, and it was exercise, so the sooner she got to the field, the better.

What she had not bargained for was that Mrs. Taylor and Billy´s interview would be over soon after she had left, and that Billy would be also heading to the soccer field in an attempt to talk to her before she resumed practice. And he succeeded. As she was hurrying herself through the parking lot she heard him. "Hey, M, wait up". "Oh, no, this is the last thing I want now." But it was Billy, not just some random acquaintance, and she could not just ignore him. "Hey, Billy, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Mrs. Taylor."

He was now trying to catch his breath as he had started running from the moment he left Mrs. Taylor´s office. He knew that if he wanted to see María he had to be fast and reach her before she got to the field. "I just want to talk to you". "God, I am really in bad shape, I can hardly speak after a short run" he thought. She chuckled and leant on his truck. "Ok, just catch your breath first. What happened to my favorite athlete?" He looked at her trying to memorize the way she was now smiling and standing in front of him leaning on his truck in her soccer gear. Like the night before State, when he had seen her waiting for him at the bar, he knew he would cherish this memory. The light afternoon breeze was playing with loosen strands of her hair and he did his best not to reach out and tuck them behind her ear. He shrugged. "Life, I guess…"

He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets as he felt the urgent need to touch her arm. "What happened to your wrist?" She looked at him surprised. "You don't know?" He shook his head. "You never told me…" Was he hurt? He sounded like if he was hurt she had not told him. "Sorry, I just assumed Timmy would've told you… I fell and sprang my left wrist during soccer practice three and a half weeks ago. Silly fall really. I've been wearing a bandage and a splint but I got cleared on Friday."

"I'm sorry to hear that, M, Tim never told me" She smiled when she thought of Tim and the way he usually kept things for himself. "Well, you know, he's not really much of a talker…" He smiled back. "No, he's not…and how is it going now? Are you doing your exercises? Keep doing them although I'm sure it hurts like hell…" He was just describing exactly how it felt. "How do you know?" He sighed before answering his question. "I've been there myself, M, you probably don't remember, I had that exact same injury during my junior year."

Memories of that time slowly came to her mind. "Now that you mention it, I do remember. I was nine, it was winter and you were away from football and golf for four weeks. I recall having you all for myself at the range, you helped me with my new clubs, remember?" They laughed together at the happy memory. "I do. So it's hurting much, uh?" Her face was now serious. "Yeah, it's being hard. The last three weeks have been awful, the lack of exercise almost killed me, I even nearly… Never mind, and now it is really hurting every time I do the exercises." He locked eyes with her. "You know you have to keep it up, don't you? No matter how it hurts…" He knew it would be hurting like hell. "Easier said than done, sometimes I can't bear it."

Her last words made him think about the night of the party, and he decided to ask her about it bluntly. "Is that why you drank at the party on Friday night?" She was surprised by the fact that he knew about that. How come Tim had not told him about her injury but he had shared the details of that night with him. "No, it has nothing to do with that… How do you know that?"

"I was there when Tim brought you to our place." That shocked her. "Maybe I was much drunker than I thought…" "Sorry, I don't remember seeing you that night…" He smiled trying to reassure her, he could see she was embarrassed. "It's ok, you were sleeping on our couch." He decided not to tell her about Mindy finding him holding her hand and caressing her face. "Yeah, sleeping it off, you mean…" she managed to say.

Definitely, she was embarrassed. "Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed for that. We all make mistakes. But please promise me you would never do that again." She could not help laughing. "You of all people are asking me not to drink? Isn't that kind of double standard?" Despite her laugh, he was serious. "Yes, I am asking you. It's not double standard. I don´t have a bright future as a golf pro ahead of me."

As she heard that, she reached for his forearm and left her hand there. "You did have it…" Her touch nearly made him forget what he was about to say, but it was important that she would hear it. "Yes, but I had no one by my side to take care of me and give some advice about alcohol and sport, so please, M, don´t do that again, at least not on a regular basis." She squeezed his forearm. "I won't, Billy, I promise. It's just that… I don't know, sometimes I feel lost, I am always struggling about something, and everything and everyone is changing and ..."

She was trying to hold her tears and he could not stand it anymore. He stepped forward and opened his arms. "Hey, come here, don't cry…" She clung to his neck and buried her head into his chest, just like she used to do when she was twelve years old and had had a hard day at school (being a tomboy while growing up could be harsh if you were surrounded by cheerleaders and rally girls in the making). But now she would be eighteen in a week and she was positive she was in love with him, knowing that she did not have a chance at his heart for anything beyond friendship. Billy softly held her while she was crying, one of his arms around her waist and the other one caressing the back of her neck. He knew this was probably one of his last chances to hold her like that, and he suddenly wondered if he should forget about everything and everyone else and act on his feelings.

After a few minutes she calmed down and broke the embrace. She did not want to, but she was afraid someone could see them hugging in the middle of the school parking lot. He had a girlfriend and that kind of news travelled fast in Dillon. Despite being crying, those minutes in his arms had been the happiest she had been for a long time. And she felt the need to thank him. "Thank you, Billy. Thanks for everything. I guess I never said it to you, but thank you for being with me and helping me all these years. Beside my parents, you've been the most important person in my life."

She knew it sounded like a goodbye, but she really felt the need to move on. "It's now or never" Billy thought. But as she was looking at him with a teary smiling face, he could not find the courage to tell her about his feelings. The thought that she might turn him down was unbearable. And he also thought he had nothing to offer her. So he just cupped her face and gently brushed away her tears with his thumb, letting his hand linger on her neck. "Thank you for saying that, M. You're also truly important to me. And I want you to know that I'll be there for you no matter what, wherever you are." "And whoever you are with" he thought, but he kept that last part for himself.

As he was saying his last words, soccer and football players started to walk into the parking lot heading for their cars. Practice had been over a while ago. She panicked, not only had she missed practice, but Coach Roberts would notice that she had been in the parking lot instead of going back to the field. And Tim would be waiting for her to go to her house to study. "Billy… Sorry, I have to run. See you around." He smiled at her. "See you. Tell Coach it was my fault." She started heading to the locker room and suddenly stopped on her tracks and turned around, to find Billy looking at her in the same sport she had left him. "And, Billy, don't worry, I'll talk to Timmy about college." Unable to say a single word, he just nodded at her and got into his truck as soon as she disappeared into the locker room.

That evening, as they had finished their homework, María asked Tim about college. They were gathering their books on the table when María just asked bluntly. She wanted to address the issue before her parents would get home for dinner. "Timmy, is it true that some colleges are trying to contact you for a scholarship and you are not returning their calls or replying their letters?"

He stopped sorting out his books and looked at her. "How do you know?" he asked in a low voice. "Mrs. Taylor. She asked me if I knew anything about that. So it's true, then?" As he heard her he lowered his gaze to the table. "Yes, it is. What did you tell her?" he whispered back. She could feel that he was not comfortable at all talking about it.

"The truth, that college is not one of our favorite topics and that I didn't know anything about that. But I also told her that I would talk to you about it. So, what's going on, Timmy? And don't try to hedge the question, you know you can tell me anything." He raised his gaze. "I'm not sure if I want to go to college. I don't know if I belong there."

He was looking at her right in her eyes and she felt bad for him. He must have been struggling for that for weeks now and she had not noticed it. "And I think I am a good tutor…" she thought. "And why didn't you tell me?" He shrugged when he heard her question. "I… I just didn't want you to think that I am…" Suddenly he seemed to be very interested in his books, lowering his gaze, and she sensed that he was embarrassed about that. "Hey, the fact that you don't want to go to college, if you really don't want to go, is not going to change my opinion about you, which is great, by the way…" When he heard the word "great" referred to him, he looked at her again, and a wide smile lit his face. "Is it? Can you say that again?" María chuckled at his reaction. "That I think you are great? Sure, anytime you want to hear it." She could see that he was truly moved. "Thanks, Mars."

"You're welcome, but hiding letters and dodging calls is not going to help you in any way". As she said that, his body tensed. She could only know if Billy had told her. "So Billy told you…" María moved her head. "Not directly, but he was in Mrs. Taylor's office when she called me. He's worried Timmy…" He looked down again. "I know, and I don't want that…" María had promised herself that she would not touch him at all before talking to him, but she could not help herself seeing him like that, so she put her hand on his arm.

"Ok, here is what we are gonna do. Bring me a list of the colleges that are trying to contact you, and the letters. If you keep them…" she said looking at him questioningly and he chuckled. "You know me too well Mars…" María rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Timmy, and we we'll go through the list and narrow it down the ones you would, hypothetically, be going to. We'll contact them telling them you might be interested. In the meantime you´ll tell Billy and I'll tell Mrs. Taylor that you are replying every letter and every call. And that would give you time to think about it and get Billy and Mrs. Taylor out of your hair while you figure out what to do. Deal?" He smiled and put his hand on top of hers. He had noticed she had reduced physical contact between them to a minimum since the party, so he welcomed the change, even if it involved dealing with college applications. "Deal. Thanks, Mars."

The week flew by and on Saturday María finally set foot on the range for the first time in over a month. And she had a terrible time there. Her wrist still felt dumb from the time it had been immobilized by the bandage and the splint despite the exercises and that clearly affected her swing. Tim tried to encourage her saying that she should not push it, that she should give it time, but she gave up well before lunch time. She realized there was no point in rushing it and she could only hurt herself again if she did, and that was the last thing she wanted right now. Tears of rage threatened to fall from her eyes but she did her best to keep them at bay. "Come on, let's get some lunch. It's on me" Tim said trying to lighten her mood.

She was quiet all their way to Applebee´s and she was still quiet once there after they ordered. Tim was not usually eager for small talk but her silence started to worry him. "Are you ok, Mars?" He could see that something was on her mind. "Yeah…" She was not fine, at all, but she did not want to show it. "Liar…" he chuckled. She smiled back. "Sorry…."

"What's going on? Come on, you'll feel better if you let it out…" She laughed when he said that. "The pot calling the kettle black…" He was not really the best example, but he knew she was feeling bad and truly wanted to help her. "I know, I know… but if you don't tell me I won´t be able to help you…" He felt the sudden need to reach for her hand but he stopped himself from doing that. They were in a public place and he did not want to fuel the rumors. He did not care about him, he was used to live with that kind of gossip around, but he did care about her.

"It's just that…. This senior year is not at all what I expected…" He looked at her questioningly. "I mean… sometimes I just feel that I am always struggling about something: school, golf, feelings, now this minor injury that turns out to be worse than expected… It's overwhelming… Maybe I am not so good at all those things after all, maybe I should…"

Once she had started talking, she could not stop. "Hey, Mars, you are rambling, slow down…" The need to hold her hand grew even stronger in him and he had to use all his willpower not to do so. Instead, he placed his hand on her forearm. "Sorry, I don't usually do this…" He could see it was hard for her to let all that out. "It's Ok." He intently looked at her and held her gaze.

One of the things he had always liked most about her was her self-confidence and how she was able to enhance it in front of everybody and, on the other hand, hide her emotional side, showing it only very seldom, just with a few people like Billy and Miles, and now him again. Since the night María and Jack broke up Tim had somehow become part of that inner circle once more (he had been part of it before, until she went to Florida), but she had never opened up to him like she was doing now since they were kids. This was full disclosure, she was literally opening her soul to him, and he wanted to show her that he was worth that trust, that he was good enough.

In an instinctive motion, he moved his hand down her forearm and held her hand. "I didn't know you felt this way. You shouldn't. To me, you´re perfect" he said in a quiet voice. "Please, Timmy…." He softly squeezed her hand. "It´s true. I think you've too many things on your plate and still you´re perfect in everything you do." María was now blushing. "Thank you, Timmy." She put her other hand on his arm and moved her head closer to his. Maybe it was time to take action and tell him she was ready, whatever it was that he had offered her that night at the cliffs. "I think… I think I'm ready" she said smiling. She had not planned to tell him like that, but this was as good a time as any other. "Ready for what?" He was so focused trying to help her feel better that he was missing the fact that she was taking him up on his offer.

She could not believe he didn´t know what she was referring to. She had been distracted about it for weeks and now that she was finally taking the lead he was not following. The thought that he might have changed his mind rushed her head and she held his hand and arm tighter as an automatic response to that. "Maybe it took me too long to make up my mind and now it's too late." She looked down and started whispering. "Your offer, Timmy, I´m ready now. If it still stands… If it doesn't, it's ok…" She was whispering in such a low voice that he could barely hear her, but the words "offer" and "still stands" were clear.

At that very moment the waitress came up with their order and they quickly untangled hands and arms and sat back to let her set their food on the table. When she was done and left their table, he looked at María and just said "It does, Mars, it does."

When she heard him, a part of María could not help but wish it was Billy and not Tim the one saying it. It was just a quick flash through her mind, but long enough for her to notice it, and once more she made a strong resolution to leave her feelings for Billy behind and move on for good. Again, she wondered if she was choosing the proper partner for that and if she would be ready for the implications.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

In spite of that intimate conversation at Applebee's, they did not mention it again during the rest of the weekend. María decided to stay home on Sunday as she was afraid of going back to the range and not being able to hit a single ball properly. She just went to church with her parents in the morning and planned to spend all afternoon dozing on the couch. She could not understand why Tim had not taken any action at all after she had told him that she was ready. When they had finished having lunch he had taken her home but he made no attempt to be close to her. She had been expecting that he would kiss her in the parking lot, or once they were inside his truck, but he did nothing like that.

And he did not say a word. Not that this last part was surprising, again she knew he was not much of a talker, but she was expecting something given the conversation they had just have. When he parked in her driveway, she found herself shifting towards him instead of opening her door. But he just smiled at her and said "See you tomorrow, I'll call you." She smiled back and turned around for the door, letting out a soft "Ok". When she was hopping out the truck she could not believe what had just happened. "Did I almost jump on him?" She just ran to her front door and entered the house without waving back, like she usually did, and Tim did not miss the change nor her hurt face when he just smiled at her with no physical contact at all. She had tried to hide it but he could read her like an open book.

The truth was that he had been extremely nervous after their conversation, nearly as nervous as that time years ago when María had convinced him to kiss her so they could both know how that felt like. But now they were not young teens anymore, María would be eighteen next week and she was not any random girl he wanted to hook up with. She was one of his dearest friends, besides Jason and, of course, Billy. And he had never done this before with a friend. Sure Tyra had also been a lifelong friend but it had been completely different from the beginning, and they had never been so close growing up like Tim and María. She was like family to him and he wanted to do it right.

But he had found out that he did not know how to do it right. "Should I kiss her now?" he had thought when they had exited Applebee´s. "No, maybe she would not like to have our first kiss here." Funny that he did not know when to kiss a girl. He had even considered the possibility of pulling over on their way home, stop the engine and kiss her right then and there, but he was not sure what she would have thought about that. He was positive Tyra would have loved it but he did not know if it was the right move with María. Yet he had realized that may be it had been the right move after all when he had seen the hurt look on María's eyes in her driveway, and then it had been too late. Plus, besides all that, one part of him was afraid that she had said she was ready only because she was going through a rough patch with her injured wrist. That was what scared him the most. And if that was the case, maybe he should give her more time.

So after what had happened the day before, she had jumped from the couch to get ready when he had called after lunch to ask her if she wanted to go for a ride before dinner. For the second time in a few weeks, she discarded her usual jeans and chose a skirt (the first time had been the night before State to meet Billy). Despite being February the weather was sunny and warm and surely the denim skirt would not be out of place. Her mother was out in the backyard doing some gardening and her father was sitting on a lounge chair reading the paper, so she stepped into the warm sunlight to tell them that she was going out. "I'm going out for a while with Tim. I'll be home for dinner." "Ok, María, tell him to come over for dinner, too" her mother said. "Will do, Mom" María yelled on her way out, grabbing her jacket. She could hear Tim's truck in their driveway.

"I can´t believe María is wearing a skirt" Sue said with an amused look in her face. "I didn´t notice" Mac replied trying to bury his face under the newspaper. He had noticed indeed. "Well, she is, Mac, isn't that great?" Mac put the paper aside and looked at her. "I wish I could say it is, Sue. Maybe it´s time for you to have that talk again, remember? The one you two had when she started dating Jack…" he replied lowering the paper and looking at her. "Don´t worry, Mac, I'll talk to her, but something tells me she doesn't need that talk again. She will be eighteen next week…" Sue tried to elaborate. "Just talk to her, Sue, I trust both of them, I really do, but just in case…"

Once she closed the front door to her house, she walked to the truck and hopped in. "Hi" she greeted him. He had been staring at her since the minute she opened the front door. "Why is she wearing a skirt, today of all days?" he thought. He had been dreaming about those long and tanned legs since State and he thought he was not going to be able to drive with her wearing that skirt on the passenger seat.

"Hi. You look great. Nice skirt, McGill" he managed to say while she sat down, its hem immediately going up a few inches. Now he could see, and touch had he wanted to, half her thighs. He put the gear in reverse to leave her driveway, trying to focus on driving before saying or doing anything that he might regret later. María noticed something was off. "Thank you, I guess…" she mumbled. His words about her skirt reminded her of the night before State, and the way he had said something similar in the hallway of the hotel then, and she ended up thinking about Billy and how she wished she had those feelings for Tim instead of Billy. In a way it would make things much easier.

After a few minutes on the road she asked "Where are we going? I have to be back for dinner, and my parents want you to be there as well. I told them I'd tell you but if you don't want to come it's ok and …" She was nervous and was starting to ramble. He realized then he was being a jerk, it was not her fault her legs were often in his hot dreams. He reached for her left hand and gently held it, softly stroking the inside part of her wrist. He knew that would calm her down. "Hey, everything is ok. We are going somewhere quiet, I want to talk to you."

Somehow, she was not surprised when they arrived at the cliffs and Tim drove his truck to the farthest end. She knew this was his favorite spot. "Come on, let's go on to the back. The sun's still strong." As the night María broke up with Jack, they sat down on the bed of the truck, their backs leant against the cabin. Tim reached for the cooler beside him and pulled out two Cokes. "What? No beer today? Well, Riggins, I don't know what to think…" she pretended to be offended. "She's really nervous, she never calls me by my last name." "No, no beer today, Mars. No more beer until you are 25…" She chuckled. "Ok, dad…." He took her hand in his and locked eyes with her."I want us both to be sober for this." She just nodded, her heart racing fast.

She had no clue what he was going to tell her, and she was afraid he would be breaking up with her before even starting. At that very moment Billy came to her mind again, and for the thousandth time over the last weeks she wondered if being more than friends with Billy's brother was a wise move. "Of course it isn´t" she kept hearing a little voice deep in her head. But there was another voice in her head, a stronger one, that kept saying that maybe Tim was the one who could make her forget Billy. It was crazy. "Since when do I do crazy things?" "Since you feel lonely and overwhelmed despite having come back home" the stronger voice said. She looked down and started playing with the hem of her t-shirt with her free hand. He sensed her worry, and threw his arm around her shoulders to get closer, looked at her and started talking.

"Hey, don't be nervous…" He tried to calm her down but he was nervous himself. He had never done anything like this before. "Can I …. Can I say something first?" María interrupted, looking up at him again. "Sure" he said keeping his arms around her shoulders. "It's just… I want you to know that I am sorry for saying that yesterday…" His face changed and a deep frown suddenly clouded it. "What?"

"No, no, don´t get me wrong. I haven´t changed my mind about it. I mean, I'm sorry I said it then and there. I was waiting for the right occasion but it clearly wasn´t. It was awkward and I didn't mean it to be. Sorry." His frown went away and a smile crossed his face. "It wasn't awkward. I made it awkward. All this is new for me."

She smirked. "So it´s true, then? Nowadays you're never friends with girls…" He chuckled when he heard her say that. "Not really, aside from you and maybe Tyra, but that's completely different because…" María moved her head while laughing. "I don't really wanna know, thank you…"

He took a deep breath and held her even closer. "I´m sorry, Mars, I wanted to kiss you when we exited Applebee´s, but I didn´t know if you`d like that. And I wanted to pull over on our way back to your house but I was not sure …." She chimed in without thinking. "Oh, I would've loved that" she said blushing. "Really?" he was looking at her intently and she did not hesitate. "Definitely" she whispered. "Good to know Mars" he whispered back.

They stayed like that, both of them afraid of making the next move. Neither of them wanted to ruin the moment, but something was on María's mind and she felt the need to clarify it. "Timmy, I don´t want you to get the wrong impression…" she started in a low voice. It was funny because they were alone but she felt the need to keep her voice down. "About?" "Sex. I still think I'm not ready. When I said that I would've loved that I wasn´t meaning…" she said raising her voice.

"I know. It's fine." He squeezed her shoulder. "But I thought you…" she needed to be clear on that. "Mars, this is all new for me. I respect how you feel about sex. No rush, really."

"Would you….would you be willing to wait? I mean, wouldn't you seek…" Tim knew her experience with Jack had not been a good one. "No, I'd wait. Gladly." María nodded and smiled. But there was something else that she was worried about. "And our feelings for Billy and Lyla? Are you sure that won't be a problem?"

He touched her forehead with his and lowered his arm, holding her by her waist. She could see the shades of green and brown in his pupils, and she held his other hand in hers. "I told you I'm done with Lyla, and your feelings for Billy, well, I'm ok with that as long as you're honest to me about them." She closed her eyes and gulped. "Ok" she managed to say nodding. "So we´ll take it slow, ok? Don't expect kisses just today… Deal?" he said kissing her cheek. She opened her eyes and smiled again. "Deal."

"Come on, let's go or we'll be late" he said getting up and giving her a hand to help lift her up from her sitting position. "Mars… one more thing. Could you go back to your usual jeans? Please? I don't think I'll be able to take it slow if you keep wearing skirts…" he said trying to keep his eyes away from her legs. He had no doubt that taking things slow with María would be hard for him, and all the help in that matter that he could get was very welcomed. Somehow she managed not to blush and quietly answered. "Noted."

That evening they had dinner at María´s and Tim left for his place after helping her do the dishes while her parents were watching tv. María saw him to the door, as usual, and true to his word he did not kiss her. At least not the way she was longing for. He just hugged her, kissed her on her cheek and whispered softly in her ear. "Good night. See you tomorrow at school."

When she was getting ready to go to bed, Sue knocked lightly on her bedroom door and asked her if it was a good time to talk to her. "Sure, mom, it's always a good time to talk to you."

Her mother sat on her bed beside her and smiled at her. "How are you, María?" She knew her mother had noticed the skirt and she knew what this talk could be about. "Everything´s good, mom" she answered. "I can't believe you are turning eighteen this week. Our Iittle girl… I still remember when we brought you home from the hospital when you were born…"

After some small talking, Sue took a deep breath and took María´s arm. She knew what it meant. "Here it comes" she thought while trying to decide how much she wanted to tell her mother. "Sweetheart, I know we talked about sex when you started dating Jack. I just want to make sure that you know I'm here for you if you need to talk about it again… "

"Mom…" María wanted to reassure her mother, but she misinterpreted it. "I know, I know, probably this is not a conversation you want to have. And we trust you, we really do, and we trust Tim too, but just in case…"

"Mom, I'm not having sex with Tim. We are friends…" she finally could say. "I know you are friends, but your body language and the way you look at each other tells me that may change soon." "Is everybody noticing that? Or is it just mom who has always had a sixth sense for these things? Well, always except for the Jack situation."

She made a quick mental note to tell Tim that they should be careful if they did not want people to know, and then she realized they had not talked about that. And she decided that her mother deserved to know the truth. There was nothing wrong with it, and if she wanted her parents to trust her she had to trust them in return. It was a two-way street. "Yes, mom, maybe, but if that happens I am still not ready for sex, and he knows about that." Sue´s eyes opened widely in surprise. "Does he?" María nodded. "He does, mom, so you don't have to worry about that yet."

María smiled at her mother and took her hand. She was sure this was not easy for her either. "Mom, I really don't have any trouble talking with you about sex, really I don't. I just never do because it's not been the case yet. And I do remember what you told me about it more than a year ago. That's why I know I'm not ready yet." Sue patted her daughter´s hand and proudly smiled at her while she got up from the bed and headed to the door. "See? I told your dad we had nothing to worry about. Good night, sweetheart." She had thought this was just her mother worried. "What? Have dad and you been talking about this? Mom!", but Sue had already left the bedroom closing the door behind her.

After that the whole week went uneventful. Just more classes, more soccer practice, more range, more tutoring and no progress at all regarding Tim and María. "God, he´s really taking it slow" she usually thought whenever she would be hoping for any progress and he would just squeeze her shoulder or, even worse, kiss her temple. She found it to be frustrating. Just as well that finally she was starting to have good sensations at the range and that helped her with that frustration.

It was her 18th birthday on Saturday and she knew her mother was planning a "surprise" party. That was the last thing she wanted. It would be her first birthday in Dillon since she had turned fourteen, and she would prefer to enjoy it quietly at home. But she knew both her parents were excited about it, so she just hoped there would not be too many people invited.

Before he could even notice, it was Saturday and Tim was on the phone asking her to go out to have lunch. She had no doubt that it was just an excuse to drag her out of the house to let her parents get everything ready for the party. "Timmy, just tell me the truth. Did any of my parents ask you to take me out for lunch while they set the house for a surprise birthday party?"

"Busted" "Yes, you mom did." He answered after a few seconds. He did not want to let Sue down but he also knew that there was no point in lying to María. "Ok, well then…" She sounded disappointed. "But I'd really like to take you out to celebrate." It was true, he wanted to spend at least part of her birthday with her on their own. "Ok, but somewhere quiet." She would have enough with the party. "The lake and some food?" he suggested. "That sounds great."

"Pick you up in 30." He was about to hang up when something came to her mind. "Timmy, just a question, a silly question but, can I wear a dress just this time? I know my mother wouldn´t like me to attend my own party in jeans…" She could hear him chuckling over the phone. "Of course, Mars, I'll behave."

They went to the Alamo Freeze, grabbed some lunch and headed for the lake. They were there for almost four hours, lying in the sun and talking, and, once more, nothing happened between them. And Tim noticed her frustration when they were leaving as she deeply sighed while opening the passenger door. So before starting the engine, he turned around to face her. "Mars, a good thing is worth waiting for." She smiled and apologized."Yeah, I'm sorry…" he smiled back. "Don't be. Ready for your party?" "Yeah, let´s go…""God, he must think I am desperate. But I'm not, right?" she thought silently blaming her hormones. But her hormones were not to blame. At least, not entirely. Her need to move on was.

Completely unexpectedly, she had a great time at the party. Her parents had sensed that she would not like to have a big party so it was just family and close friends. For the first time since she was four, Billy was not at her birthday party. Under normal circumstances she would have been truly sad about it, but surprisingly she felt at peace with it due to the quick text he had sent her early in the morning.

"Happy 18th birthday M. Have a great day. Sorry won´t be able to make it to ur party. See u around!"

"I can´t believe Billy sent this. It's not like him at all." It seemed so cold to come from Billy that it hurt. A lot. More than it should, given that she had decided to move on. Definitely it caught her off-guard and tears were threatening to fall from her eyes. "I wasn't expecting anything close to romantic, but this is far from friendly." So she had read it about a hundred times before replying with another quick (an also cold) text.

"Thx Billy. Don´t worry. See u around."

María didn't know that Billy had written a completely different text and had deleted it before pressing "send" as he thought it might be too forward and he was afraid of Mindy´s reaction if she knew he had sent María that text (the latter was the real reason he had deleted it). "Hey, M, happy birthday to my favorite girl! Can´t believe u r 18… Hope ur wrist is better. Keep it up. So sorry won´t be able to make it to ur party. Coffee & catch up? Say when and where."

Yet he could not help feeling bad for sending such an impersonal message to one of the most important person in his life, and he spent most of the following hours wondering if he should send her another text, or, even better, call her, but he did not find the courage to finally do so.

Billy did not know that by sending his second text not only he had saved himself from being in trouble with Mindy but he had also helped María, as she was now one hundred percent sure she had to move on. That text had totally silenced that little voice inside her mind that used to say that getting involved with Billy´s brother was not a wise move.

So when the party was finally over and everybody had left, Mac and Sue started cleaning up and María saw Tim to his truck. She was not expecting anything so she was surprised when he took her hand and softly dragged her to the other side so his truck was blocking the view from her house. He was still holding her hand when he leant in placing his other hand on the back on her neck and stopped when he got close to her face. María then realized he was giving her the chance to back off but she did just the contrary, leaning in and letting his lips touch hers. It was a soft and short kiss, as if they were testing the waters.

When they broke it, they looked at each other smiling and María took the lead and leant in again for another kiss. This time she made sure to let him know what she wanted, and he deepened the kiss accordingly, holding her by her waist and her neck and pressing his body to hers. She clung to his hair and eagerly responded until she broke the kiss gasping for air. They remained close, both his arms around her waist and her hands caressing his neck, their eyes closed and their foreheads touching.

He was the first to talk. "Where did you learn to kiss like that?" he whispered. Certainly he had not expected her to kiss him like that. "I guess I can ask you the same question… Wow, that was…" But he was kissing her again before she could finish. This time one of his hands was caressing her back through the soft fabric of her dress and she could feel the sensation down her spine all over her body. She had never felt anything like that before and instead of breaking the kiss she deepened it and pressed her body to his.

"So much for taking it slow" he thought. He was now pinned between the door of his truck and her body and after a few seconds he turned the kiss into a soft, tender one. "Mars, we are just in front of your house. We shouldn't …" he mumbled between kisses. She chuckled. "Yeah, I got carried away… Sorry…" she said leaning her head on his chest. "Don't apologize, it was great. But I'd better get going. Pick you up tomorrow afternoon? Alamo Freeze and the cliffs?" he said locking eyes with her. "Ok" she said nodding. She stepped backwards to leave him room to open the door and he leant in for a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. "Happy birthday, Mars. See you tomorrow." And he quickly hopped in his truck.

She had never been the one to kiss and tell (not that she had had many chances to do so), but she could not refrain herself form telling Miles when he called her later that night. "Hi, beautiful, happy birthday. Sorry for calling so late." He had tried to call her earlier but he had not found the right moment during the day. But she did not mind. "It's ok Miles, thank you for calling and for your text."

"Did you have a good day?" he asked. "I did" she answered smiling to herself. Somehow that smile was conveyed through the phone. "You sound very happy… Anything I should know about?" She chuckled. "You know me too well… Timmy and I kissed for the first time today and it was…" She couldn't find the right word and Miles helped her. "Epic?" She laughed. "Yes, something like that. My knees are still shaking…" She was blushing as she was remembering it. "Well, congrats to both of you. It was bound to happen. I bet Billy is jealous, though…"

María froze as soon as she heard that. Why every time she made up her mind about moving on Billy had to be there in some way? "What are you talking about?" she asked in a low voice. "Is there a chance Billy has feelings for me? And how exactly does Miles know about that?"

Miles noticed her worried tone, but unaware of her true feelings for Billy, he just rubbed salt in the wounds. "Hey, don't worry. It's just that you were always so close to both Riggs that I always wondered what would the other brother think if you ever got romantically involved with one of them. And, truth to be told, until a few weeks ago I always thought that, given the case, you´d choose Billy, you two have an special connection."

She did not know how to take his words, and too worried to hide her feelings for Billy, she said the first thing that came to her mind to try and bury them. "Had, Miles, past tense, that faded over time…" He could not believe it, though, and he insisted, making her feel awful unintentionally. "Are you sure about that, María? Have you seen him lately?"

She tried to sound as firm as possible. "Yeah, I have. And trust me, that faded over time." "Who am I trying to convince, Miles or myself?" She was trying so had to convince herself that completely forgot to ask Miles if he thought that Billy would choose her, too.

"And, please, Miles, don't tell anyone about Tim and I just yet, this is all brand new…" Going public was something they had not discussed yet. "I won't. Take care María. Talk to you soon." She was really thankful for having a friend like him, but she did not realize that his opinion might be somehow tainted as he currently lived far away and did not know about her feelings for Billy. She should have gotten that fact into balance since the moment she shared some of her concerns with him, but she obviously had not. "You too, Miles. And thank you for being always there, I really appreciate it."

It had been a great day, she would never forget her 18th birthday, that was for sure. But why then couldn't she stop thinking about Billy when she was finally with Timmy?


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Once more, the nature of Tim and María's relationship had changed and nobody around noticed it. Maybe it was because most of them already thought about them as a couple, but the fact that no public display of affection was shown at all when they were together played an important part in it. Things seemed to have flowed easily and naturally between them and they had silently agreed that there was no need for them to go public. At least, not yet.

They had different reasons for it: Tim, mainly because he did not want María to be in the center of the rumor mill, and María, because she felt she was not ready to deal with the implications. She was afraid that if her parents knew they would be asking her questions she did not have answers for, and sure her mother would want to have "the talk" again with her. They always said that they trusted Tim, but there was a slim chance that given the case, they would not trust him so much, implying earlier curfews for María and new rules to follow when Tim was around and her parents were not. And for once she just wanted to enjoy it and stop worrying about anything else.

Because she was really enjoying being with Tim after long weeks of doubts and her conversation with Miles that first night. Nothing had changed in public or at her house when her parents were home, but she found herself longing for their time alone. Much to her surprise, she had discovered that she was really looking forward to those private moments. Tim was revealing himself as a caring partner and María was discovering a new whole world with him. It was completely different from dating Jack. Of course that had not made her forget Billy, and her feelings for him were still strong, but she was truly happy with Tim.

"Hey, Mars, we should stop…" "What?" she mumbled against his skin. They were at the cliffs and it was raining heavily. They had intended to go to the Alamo Freeze afterwards but after Tim had parked his truck on the far end and softly kissed María all thoughts about food had been soon forgotten. As the prior days, tender kisses had turned into hungry and deep ones, and things had heated up really quickly in the cab of his truck. By the time Tim realized they had to stop they had already gotten rid of his shirt and her top, she was trailing soft kisses on his neck caressing his chest with both hands and he was about to slip her sport bra strap down her bare shoulder.

"Mars... " he repeated holding both her hands. She looked up at him confused, her eyes darker than usual. "I… I thought you liked it…" He chuckled and softly kissed her lips. "Of course, but if we keep this on it'll be hard to stop…" She blushed. "Right, sorry" she said climbing off his lap and reaching for her top. "It's ok, and you don´t have to do that" he mumbled with an amused look on his face. María sighed. "I'd thought you'd like some space. I guess I'm gonna need your help here…"

He held her and sat her on his lap again, tracing circles on her back. "Mars, I'm not fifteen anymore. I like to be close to you and that's not gonna make me do something I know you don't want me to do. When I said we should stop, I meant the touching and the kissing. But there's no need to keep a distance. I can still hold you and hug you without feeling the need to have sex with you. We can find a balance…" "Not bad for not being a talker" he proudly thought to himself. He just hoped he had been able to express it correctly. He knew that some things in his life might have been different had he taken the time to try and express himself instead of keeping silent, and he did not want to regret that in regard to María. Everything with her was a challenge, but it was a challenge he was willing to address. And he was starting to realize after years of silence that communicating with the people around you could actually improve things, no matter how hard the current situation was.

And apparently, he had. María had her arms around his neck and nodded."Thanks Timmy, I do like it when you hold me like this." She titled her head so she could gaze directly at him. She had something important to tell him and she wanted to look at him while she said it. "But I'm surprised I really like it when we are together. I feel things I've never felt before. And I don't know how to deal with it. I mean, I didn't even realize that if we kept it on it could be hard to stop…"

"No worries, Mars. I'll make sure we take it slow" he whispered. She smiled and nodded. "I don't know if I am supposed to tell you this, because maybe it's too soon, or you find it too corny, but these last days have been amazing. I am really happy, you know? You make me happy." As soon as she said it, she thought that perhaps it was too much and too soon, but his next words shocked her: "You too, Mars." "We may have a chance, after all. Who would've believed it?" she happily thought while hugging him.

And while María was starting to think that maybe she and Tim could make it work, Billy had been feeling terrible for the last days. He knew he had been a jerk sending María that text for her birthday. As well as his recent heavy drinking (heavier that ever, as Tim had pointed out to him the night of the party), he blamed it on stress, as he was trying to set up his new business while still working his regular job. The pay was not too much but he had to keep it to cover mortgage and bills until the car shop he had invested his small savings in started making any money. And he did not have a clue when that could be, as he had acted on impulse without considering that he would need a business plan.

Sometimes he thought he shouldn't have started the shop, not then anyway, but he had done it in an attempt to offer Mindy what he thought it would be a better life than the one he had been leading for the last years. He still dreamt of María very often, almost every night, and he hoped that building a new life with Mindy will make all those dreams and feelings for María go away. But when he had made the call he had completely overlooked all the paperwork that running a business like that would involve, and now he was even working nights to try and catch up with the office work. Tim had offered to give him a hand with some repairs on cars on his free time, but Billy wanted him to be focused on school, especially after some recruiters from San Antonio State University had visited Coach Taylor and shown a high interest in having him playing for them on a full scholarship the following year. No way was he going to ask him for more help until he graduated.

Deep inside Billy knew that stress was just an excuse to be a jerk with María and he wanted to fix it. Badly. He felt sick whenever he pictured María receiving and reading that text. "She must think I've been abducted or something..." But, how could he explain her that he was just doing his best to hide his feelings for her from everyone, herself included? It was much easier to blame it on stress.

It had been two weeks since María's birthday and Billy could not stand it anymore. He was well aware that she usually went to the range at lunch time everyday, and after a rough night he showed up there. María was truly surprised to see him by the main entrance as she turned around after waving her father goodbye once she got out of the car. Billy was just standing by the wide doors looking at the parking lot. "What's he doing here? Is he waiting for someone? Can it be... me?" she quickly thought.

As she walked to the main entrance it was clear that he had been waiting for her. They had not seen each other since that day she had cried on his chest in the school parking lot and their only communication afterwards had been those cold texts on her birthday.

As she got near the entrance he approached her."Hi M" he said smiling with his hands in his jeans pockets. "Hey Billy" she greeted back. She was leaning in for a hug but she hesitated half way. After that text he had sent her she did not know where to stand. Billy noticed her hesitation and stepped in hugging her and whispering "Belated happy birthday" . She tried to linger in the embrace for a little bit longer but he quickly stepped back.

She locked eyes with him. "Thank you very much, Billy. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working now?" This was certainly strange, María had not seen him at the range for years.

"Lunch break" he answered. He softly took her by her forearm and gently pulled her to the far end of the lobby looking for some privacy. He knew that many people went to the range at lunch time to blow off some steam and the place would be crowded in a few minutes.

As he started talking, he kept his hand on her forearm. "Listen, M, I'm here to apologize for the text I sent you on your birthday. I'm really sorry, I should've gone to your party or, at least, called you, and I should've never sent you that cold message."

She smiled at him and put her hand on top of his, trying to ignore the sparks she felt when their skin touched. She wondered if he could feel it, too. "Thank you Billy, it's ok."

He shook his head. "No, it's not. I've been stressed lately with the new business but that's not an excuse..." She frowned when she heard that. "What new business?"

"Wait, Tim didn't tell you?" "What in hell does he spend his time on when he's with you then?" he thought, but that mere thought made him sick so he tried to push it to the back of his mind.

She moved her head. "I'm sure I would remember if Tim had mentioned something like that." "No, he didn't. You know him, not much of a talker..."

He nodded again. He was starting to feel the effect of her hand on his and he could not think clearly. He began to ramble. "Yeah... I'm starting a car shop and as I have to keep my job to make ends meet until it starts making money it's been kind of stressful and..."

María noticed he was worried and tried to encourage him. "I'm sure it is. Despite the stress it's great news. I'm happy for you Billy." She truly thought he could make it. For her he was much more than a hot-headed guy who couldn't keep a job for more than three months. She knew him better. She was fully aware of how much he had to give up to look after Tim (she was there when he forfeited his golf scholarship) and she really trusted him. She was positive he could succeed in a business of his own if he was focused.

"Thank you, M. And how are you? I was worried for you after that day we met at school. How are you holding up? And your wrist?" He had not stopped thinking about her since that day, wondering if she was doing better. He had even been tempted to ask Tim how she was doing, but he never did as once more he was afraid he would not be able to hide his feelings for her.

"I'm fine, thank you. And my wrist is much better." She wanted to share with him that she was much more relaxed since Tim and she had become closer, but she did not find the strength to tell him. Funny, because she definitely would if it was someone else but Tim. "And what am I going to tell him? What is it that Tim and I are exactly? Friends with limited benefits?" She would rather not think too much about it, and just enjoy it while it lasted. "Really, I'm much better, Billy. And thank you for listening and comforting me that day."

"Anytime, M, you know that." People were beginning to gather in the hall. "I don't want to keep you away from practice. Besides apologising, I came here to give you something," he whispered trying not to bring too much attention on them.

As María shifted to be able to hear him properly, he took off his State ring , put it on María's palm and closed it with his own hand. "I want you to keep it. And everytime you feel low or overwhelmed, just look at it, it'll remind you that dreams do come true."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Billy, it's your State ring... I can't have it. Please take it back..." she stammered while trying to give it back to him.

"I won't M, I want you to have it." He knew she worshipped it since she was a little girl, and he could not think of anyone better to have it than her. And, honestly, he was afraid he would end up pawning or, even worse, selling it if he needed the cash, which he thought was bound to happen sooner or later. The night before, while he was tossing and turning in bed trying to figure out how to pay all the outstanding bills and thinking about María and how he was being a jerk to her, all at the same time (no doubt he had trouble sleeping lately), it occurred to him that that ring was one of the few things he owned that had both sentimental and real value, and no matter how hard things might get, he would like to keep it, and the best way to actually keep it and try to make amendments with María was to give it to her. However far-fetched that decision might be, once he made it, he slept soundly for the first time in weeks.

But he was so deep in worry that he never gave it a second tought. He just showed up at the range and did not consider any of the repercussions. He could see by her face that María was astonished, yet he did not pay any attention to it.

"I have to run, lunch break will be over soon. Please keep it. Take care." As the last times he had been with her, he strongly believed that if he stayed any longer there with María he would end up confessing her about his feelings. So he quickly kissed her cheek and turned around to head to the main door. He was gone by the time María took her gaze off the ring on her palm and looked up with tears in her eyes. "Why did he just do that? His State ring… Why would he want me to have it?" Confussed thoughts were rushing through her mind, but she just shoved it in her pocket and ran to the club storage room. She was late for the first time in ages.

Later that day, when Tim was driving them to Maria´s to study, she looked at his hands on the wheel and asked bluntly. "How come you never wear your State ring?" He took his eyes off the road for a second to give her an amusing look and growled setting his gaze back to the windshield. "What?" She shrugged. "Nothing, just stating the obvious, I guess." He chuckled. "You think I'm a ring-kind-of-guy?" She laughed out loud. "Careful with the double meaning there… I didn't know there was such a kind…" They laughed together. Tim loved to see her like that, relaxed and all worries left behind, and reached out to grab her left hand with his right one.

When the laugh faded, she started talking again. She had been confussed since she had seen Billy at the range, and she wanted to share it with Tim but she was afraid that it would make him uncomfortable. He had told her that he was okay with her feelings for Billy as long as she was honest with him about them, but she was discovering that she would actually be jealous if she knew that Lyla had approached Tim like Billy had just approached her that same afternoon. And that was something she had not expected to happen, as she had never considered that she might end up having any kind of feelings for Tim beyong friendship. She had too much on her plate right now to be jealous on top of everything, so she tried to get rid of that sudden and unexpected feeling.

"No, seriously, I thought that State ring was a big deal for you guys." He looked at her again. "Of course it is." She insisted once more. "But still you never wear it." He was frowning now. "No. Not a ring-kind-of-guy. Matt, Bradley, a lot of us aren't. Billy is, though."

When María heard his last words, she shoved her free hand into her jean pocket, retrieved Billy´s State ring, and showed it to Tim on her palm. "Not any more, I guess…" she quietly whispered.

He took a glance at her hand and suddenly made a quick turn into Applebee's parking lot and pulled over. He shifted on his seat so he was looking straight at her, still frowning. "Is that Billy's ring?" he asked. "Yeah, he came by the range today and told me he wanted me to keep it. Do you have any idea why he would do that? Is he ok?"

"No, I don't" he quietly answered. He never thought Billy would give away his State ring. That man loved that thing. And if he knew him well the fact that he had given it to María could only mean one of those: either he was afraid he would sell it under dire circumstances (and he was going through a rough patch starting his own business), or he just wanted her to have it as a token of affection. He really wished it was the first option, and he was determined to find out as soon as he got home later in the evening.

But in the meanwhile María was looking at him, ring in hand with a confussed look on her face. "Don't worry, Mars. He's just a little bit stressed. He knows you've always liked that ring …" She seemed to be fully satisfied with that explanation. "Yeah, maybe you're right. You never told me about the car shop, I was surprised when he mentioned it…"

Tim sighed. He did not want María to think he had been hiding it from her. He just had not talked about it because the topic never came up. He had been so focused on María for the last weeks that he had completely forgotten about his brother's new business. He had offered him some help but that was it. And when he realised that, he felt bad. He should have been encouranging and supporting him instead of driving around and hanging out with María. A heavy sense of guilt started to wash over his mind.

"Honestly, I've been so focused on you that I forgot. No worries, I'll help him. And you keep that ring for him."

"Are you sure you're ok with that?" He smiled. "Yeah, why wouldn't be?" She did not know how to address the subject. "It's just… I don't know. I mean, if Lyla came to you and gave you something like this to keep it for her, I don't think I'd be totally ok with it…." He chuckled. "You'd be jealous, really?" She gulped. "Well, yes, I think I'd be. Is that … weird?" He threw his arm on her shoulders, moving her closer to him. "No. I'm glad. But I'm not jealous. This is different." "At least, I hope so" he quickly thought.

She locked eyes with him and leant in for a quick kiss. "Don't worry about Lyla. No matter what she does, I only want you" he whispered as soon their lips parted. He never thought María might be worried about Lyla, let alone jealous, and he welcomed it as a sign that there was a chance that he could be starting to touch María's heart somehow.

After a long while filled with quite an amount of deep kisses in his truck, an hour studying at María's and a nice dinner with her parents, Tim finally headed home with two purposes for the night: apologise to Billy for not having been there to support him with the new business, and directly inquire him about his real motive to give his State ring to María. He was still on time to back off if Billy had romantic feelings for her, but he knew the closer they were getting, the fonder he was growing of her and he did not want to have Billy's shadow hanging over them. It was enough to know that María loved Billy, and he thought he could handle that, but he knew that if Billy loved her back it would be just a matter of time to pursue a relationship by any of them, and Tim would be caught in the middle. And he had already had enough love triangle experience for his lifetime. The last thing he wanted was to undergo that again with his brother, no more and no less.

As he opened his main door, he heard a bottle being uncorked. The sound was unmistakable as he turned around to close the door behind him. He wondered what was going on. As he headed for the couch, Billy came out of his bedroom, a bottle of what looked like champagne on one hand and pulling Mindy out to the living room with the other. They had both huge smiles on their faces. "Hey, little bother, just on time!"

"Hey man, Minds. What's going on?" he asked with a stunned look on his face. They seemed really happy, maybe it had been a good day at the garage. Mindy was now filling two glasses of the bubbly liquid on the coffee table while Billy headed for the kitchen for another one for Tim. Once it was filled, he handed it to him, sitting down on the sofa and asking Tim to join them.

"Come here, Timmy. Let's celebrate. We just got engaged! Isn't that great?" Billy said with a huge smile on his face. Had Tim taken his time to have a close look at this bother just then, he would have noticed that his smile did not reach his eyes at all, and that he was already quite drunk. But shocked about the news as he was, he just raised his glass and congratulated them. "It is. Hey, congrats. I'm happy for you both."

It was only later during their celebration, when Mindy mentioned that everything had been so unexpected that she did not have a ring yet ("You'll have one soon enough, babe, I promise", Billy quickly chimed in), that Tim remembered that he intended to ask Billy about his State ring when he was coming home. "Well, I guess there's no point in asking that now" he thought relieved.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

As Tim was looking for María along the noisy hallway of Dillon High School the following day, he noticed Tyra coming his way. And she had seen him as well and was looking at him intently. He was not really in the mood for one of her talks. Completely hungover as he was (Billy and Mindy's impromptu engagement party had lasted for hours), his head was pounding, and he had made his mission to find María before she went to her first class, as he did not want her to know about Billy's news through the grapevine. He had a feeling it could be a blast for her and he wanted to be the one to break it to her. He had been trying to call her cell before leaving for school, but it kept going straight to voicemail.

At that very moment he really wished he would have played more attention to her schedule, so he would know which class she was attending in first period, but most of the times he would usually space out when she talked about school. Not that he was proud of that, but he found it boring and preferred to watch the way her eyes lit up when she was addressing something she really liked, or how she used her hands to emphasize what she was saying, or how she was mad because he was paying no attention to her words. That was the way their conversations about school often ended.

He was starting to worry that someone else would take the lead and fill her in before he could even find her. But as expected, Tyra grabbed his arm as soon as she reached him and dragged him to the nearby end of the lockers. "Hey, Tim." "Tyra." He moved his head in greeting. "Just wanted to tell you I hope your brother will be a good husband for Mindy. I'll kill him if he's not. And I mean it." He sighed. She was in full "Tyra mode" and if he did not hurry up María would be gone into her class. "Yes, Tyra, I'm happy for them, too. You seen María?" Tyra chuckled. Without knowing, he had given her the excuse she had been waiting for to warn him about María.

"Yeah, about that. You'd better treat her right, Tim. She's great, so don't you dare play with her… " Tim was about to lose his patience any minute. "I know, Tyra, believe me. Now, you seen her? It's important."

Something in his eyes made Tyra realize he was serious and that it was really important for him to find María. "Oh my God, you really like her… Please Tim, don't…, you know, you never hurt people on purpose but in the end… " He sighed. His head was killing him and Tyra's voice was making it worse. He placed his hand on her arm and glared at her. As soon as he touched her, she lost track of what she was saying and lowered her gaze to see his hand on her bare arm.

"Sure, she was talking to Julie a moment ago, outside the library," she managed to say. "Thanks, I owe you one, Tyra" he mumbled while he started running to the library.

As she watched him leave the hall, Tyra raised an eyebrow and muttered to herself. "I'll take your word on that." It was times like this, when she was able to read him like an open book, and when just a slight touch of his hand would make her shiver, that she realized she was not over him. Not at all. She had also felt it when she had witnessed the way Tim and María had looked at each other in the cafeteria a few weeks ago and had done her best to hide her feelings. The last thing she needed was to be seen like a jealous ex-girlfriend. In a desperate effort to protect herself, she had done a great job making everybody think that she hated Tim, he himself believed it, so she could not ruin that then. And she hated that feeling, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it and, worse still, no hope that he would ever feel the same way for her. At that time she did not know and could not even imagine that she would feel that way for years to come, and not even leaving Dillon for college or dating amazing people would make her forget him.

When Tim finally found María on her way from the library to her next class, he just took her hand and led her inside a utility closet while greeting her. "Morning. I need to talk to you." But he was shocked when María started kissing him as soon as he closed the door.

"Morning to you, too. I was wondering when you'd do this. I was starting to think it was all a legend…" she whispered between kisses. "Mars, it's not that. I need to talk to …" but the way she was kissing his neck was distracting him. After lingering in her kisses he cupped her face and locked eyes with her.

"It's important." "I'm sure it can wait..." she mumbled kissing him again. What was happening? She seemed to have been completely transformed the minute he had led her into the closet. She was not worried about her first class, she would not let him talk at all and she was pinning him against the far wall of the closet. Who would have known?

After two weeks it still surprised him how passionate she was when they were together. "Well, she's passionate in everything she does. This should not be different." And he was right to think that way; María was passionate in everything she did. But for the first time in his life, he found himself stopping a girl whenever they were together, and he was afraid that there would be a time when he would not be able to stop.

Next thing Tim noticed was that she was nibbling a certain spot on his neck and all he wanted to do was to turn them around, lean her against the wall and start taking off some of her clothes, but he had promised her they would take it slow. Keeping that promise was getting harder for him every day, as he had never imagined that when the time came it would be her pushing him and him stopping her. Besides, he had not dragged her into the closet for that, so he suddenly took both her hands in his and made her step back softly pushing on her shoulders.

"Mars, it's important." He could see the disappointment in her face, so he put both of his hands on her waist and smiled to her. "I really liked that, but I have to tell you something."

She could see worry in his eyes. "Ok, sorry, I'm listening." She was looking at him with a bright smile, and Tim hated to be the one that would blow that smile off her face. For the first time since the previous night, Tim wished Billy and Mindy were not engaged, as he was certain it would only bring pain to María. He just hoped she would not shoot the messenger.

Tim took a deep breath and held both of her hands. "I just wanted to be the one to tell you. Billy and Mindy got engaged last night." A million thoughts rushed through her mind as soon as she heard it. But among all there was one that worried her the most. "Why do I even care if I decided to move on?" She said nothing and slowly hid her face in his chest, both her arms around his waist. He hugged her letting the news sink on her.

Given that she had been in that exact stance for a few minutes and not a word had come out of her mouth, he tilted his head to look at her. "Are you ok?" She raised her face from his chest and tried to smile at him. "Yeah, I am. Thank you for telling me, Timmy. I'm late for first period, though. I better get going" she said kissing him on his cheek and heading for the door.

As she was turning around, Tim grabbed her arm and faced her. "Hey, it's ok if you're sad. I won't be mad." Much to his surprise, she started laughing. "You really think I have the right to be sad? I nearly jumped on you a while ago…" He shook his head, he could not understand where she was getting at. "But that has nothing to do with your feelings…" he trailed off. And she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Yeah, but that's totally wrong. I should not be with you if have these feelings…" Tears were threatening to leave her eyes and she was doing her best to keep them at bay. Tim noticed it and tried to comfort her down cupping her face. "I don't think it's wrong..."

They spent most of first period inside the closet, Tim hugging her and María trying to calm down. When she finally stepped out of the embrace, she took his hand in hers and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I like you, Timmy, I really do. I guess the news caught me off guard. Thank you for telling me. Let's get out of here before someone finds us…" she said dragging him out the closet.

After a sleepless night, María was still sad about the news. She kept saying to herself that it was for the best, that Billy marrying Mindy was just what she needed to finally and truly move on. She had been really happy with Tim for the last two weeks and now she had the chance to focus completely on him for once and all. But she could not help realizing that, no matter what, her feelings for Billy were there and had not changed or evolved into something different. She really wished they had, but she found it hard to think that they could change in the near future.

So when Mrs. Taylor had called that morning to ask her if she could babysit Gracie, that was the last thing she wanted to do on her Saturday night. She just wanted to hang out with Tim and forget about Billy. But Tami said that she was sorry to call so last minute but it was an emergency as she had to attend a formal dinner in Midland. The Principal was supposed to go but he could not make it and he had just phoned her. She also said that Julie had already plans with Matt and she was hoping María could do it despite being so short notice. She sounded desperate and María really liked her, so she thanked Tami for thinking about her and said she would be happy to do it. She did not have any special plan with Tim for the evening/night. She called him and told him about Mrs. Taylor. "It's Ok, Mars." He was worried about María and the way she was dealing with the news, and wanted to make sure that she was well. At least as well as you can be knowing that the person you love has just gotten engaged to someone else.

"Enjoy your time with Gracie. She's great" he said. "Sure she is" María replied remembering how she had been playing with her when she had been at the Taylors'.

But unexpectedly Gracie had been fussing since the minute Eric and Tami had walked out the door and María was having trouble keeping her calm. She had been playing with her on the living room floor and she had been happy for a while, but soon she had started crying again. María had searched for a fever or any other sign of sickness but Gracie seemed to be ok in that regard. She was offering her some food (anything to calm her down) when the front door bell rang. "Great" she thought. She took the wailing baby in her arms and headed for the door, finding a very surprised Billy on the doorstep as soon as she opened the door. He had a videotape in his hand.

"Hi Billy", María said trying to make herself heard over Gracie's cries.

"Hi M, hi Gracie" he responded once he recovered from the surprise, leaning in for a hug. María balanced Gracie on her hip with one arm and put her other arm around his waist for just a second, quickly stepping back from the embrace. She knew it was silly, but again she was afraid to say or do something she could regret later if she was too close to him. She could not remember any time when she would not try to linger into his arms when they hugged, and that thought made her sad. Billy was so surprised to see her there that did not notice the change. She was stunning in her usual white t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, and he was finding it hard not to stare and check her out.

He tried his best to mask it under surprise when he regained his ability to speak. "I didn't expect to see you here. Just came by to give this to Coach. It's the video for colleges featuring Tim, I thought he'd like to have a copy since he's in it."

"I'm sure he'll like it very much. I'm babysitting Gracie, but as you can see she's a little bit fussy..." María tried not to complain too much about the toddler but Billy knew her too well.

"She's giving you a hard time, isn't she?" he whispered locking eyes with her, trying to calm Gracie by using a low tone of voice.

Maria sighed deeply. "Yeah, she is. She wants to walk when I hold her, she wants to be held when I put her down... Nothing seems to please her. And I don't feel very patient today..."

"May I?" he said raising his arms. "Are you sure? She has been like this since her parents left for Midland..." The last thing she needed was a fussier Gracie.

"Sure..." he replied taking the youngest Taylor from María's arms. As he held Gracie against his chest and started rocking her, she immediately stopped crying and started making funny noises looking at Billy, who began to make the same noises back.

Maria stared at them and could not believe it. "This is unbelievable... I've been trying to calm her down for hours and you come here, smile to her and she's wrapped around your finger" she mumbled moving her head in disbelief. "I've been rocking her for ages but it didn't work..."

"You know, no girl can fight the Riggins charm" he joked winking at María. She laughed. "Oh, please, I forgot I was talking to the best good-looking baby expert in Texas..." As soon as she had said it, she hoped it did not sound like if she was flirting with him. And it didn't, at least not to him. "Well, not only am I seeing someone while I have feelings for his very brother, but I am also flirting with the latter who is an engaged man. What's wrong with me?"

"No seriously, I was just a small kid but I remember when Timmy was this age and a bit older. He'd drive my mom crazy, and the minute someone else held him he seemed to be ok. Babies usually notice if someone is worried or sad around them" he quickly replied looking at her closely. Gracie seemed to be ok so maybe María wasn't.

But Maria was staring at both of them and was still astonished to see how Gracie was delighted in his arms. She had not taken in the hint Billy had just given her about being worried or sad as a quick thought came into her mind: "Whoever has children with him will be a very lucky woman", and another thought rushed just after the first one: "And it's not gonna be me."

And then a third and final thought hit her hard after that. Something she had never thought about before. She did not want any children if she could not have them with Billy, as she could not picture herself loving someone as much as she loved him. At eighteen, she could not guess that different kinds of love can be experienced through a life time, and different did not have to mean worse, just different.

As Billy was playing with Gracie on his arms, the baby happily touching his face and singing along with him, María felt that her knees were not able to hold her weight and she slowly leant on the door frame, trying to mask her thoughts. But she could not play Billy.

"Are you ok, M?" he asked concerned. She was pale and had a weird look on her face. Her mind was very far away, and her face clearly showed it.

"Yes, just tired" she muttered, smiling at him. "Get a grip, María. You can cry later, not now."

As he looked at her again searching for any clue, he felt he would end up spilling his true feelings for her if he stayed any longer, and he had not proposed to Mindy to do that just after his proposal. In fact, he was beginning to think that he had only done that in an attempt to try and create an ultimate distance between himself and his feelings for María, but he did not want to dwell too long on that thought. "Well, I'd better get going. This young lady here should be tired now. I think it'll be ok now if you put her to sleep."

"Thank you Billy. I'll give Coach the tape. And congrats by the way, Timmy told me you got engaged. That's big, you must be thrilled..." At that very moment she thought that if she succeeded at saying that and make it believable, she should definitely join drama classes in college in case she did not make it to the LPGA. And she did succeed, but the fact that Billy was willing to get into his truck as quick as possible might have something to do with it.

"Thank you M, I am. See you around."

And with that he passed a half sleep Gracie over to her arms, kissed María on her cheek and left for his truck. María, still leaning on the front door frame, gulped and turned around to close the door. Tears were falling from her eyes and she did not want to stop them. She needed to get that off her chest. Luckily for her, Gracie was not talking yet so her secret was safe with her.

A deep feeling of unfairness began to wash over her while suddenly Tim came to her mind. This was not fair to him at all. She was being remarkably selfish. Of course she would like to kill him when she had to drag the words out of him, which happened quite often, or when he would just zone out sometimes, but that was him, and she liked him flaws and all. On the other hand he was loyal, sensitive, funny and caring, and, last but not least, very good-looking. And the idea that she might be being totally unfair to Tim was really concerning her.

And then the craziest thought on earth came to that reeling mind of hers. "Should I say something to Billy? Should I let him know how I feel about him before he gets married?And why would I do that? Just to take it off my chest? There´s no way he feels the same way about me, he wouldn't be marrying someone else then. But why did he give me his State ring? If there is a chance and I do nothing about it …"

By the time the Taylors arrived from Midland, Gracie was sleeping soundly and María had been silently weeping for two hours and somehow she felt better. But Tami noticed something was wrong.

"María, is everything alright?" She had told her that Gracie had been a little fussy and she knew how tiring that could be, but there was something in María's eyes that worried her. Sadness, true sadness. Her usually warm smile had not reached her eyes a single time since they had come back home.

"Yes, Mrs. Taylor, just tired" she replied smiling again.

"What a sad smile" Tami thought. "Tami, María, it's Tami here. You know, if you ever need to talk, I am here for you. I'm a good listener," she said looking intently at her.

María hesitated. She felt she urgently needed an outside perspective, preferably from an adult. Her parents were out of the question and the only other adult she would trust for something like that was Billy and, well, obviously he was out of the question, too. She truly liked Mrs. Taylor, and she had offered herself before if María ever felt the need to talk. She sensed that that time had come, she should be focused on school and golf and she felt she was completely lost. Definitely, she could use a good listener and some piece of advice. "What will she think of me?"

"Now that you mention it, I was wondering if I could talk to you. You've said before you are a good listener and I think … Don't worry, it's not school related so… whenever you have the time…"

Tami could see the concern on María´s face, she was stammering and that was not like her at all. This had nothing to do with her usual self-confidence. "Hey, it doesn't matter it's not school related. How about now and here?" Tami asked.

María hesitated, she had not expected it to be right then, and she was hoping to have some time to prepare herself for it. Of couse she knew she did not need to write a report about it, but she did want to give Tami an accurate overall picture of the whole situation. Yet, time or not time for that, once she had made the decision there was no point in delaying it. "I guess it's great if you can spare the time now", she managed to say while she sat on the couch as Tami gestured her to do so.

"Ok… " Tami said waiting for María to talk. As she could sense she was nervous, she tried some small talk. "Well, it looks like you are gonna graduate top of your class. How does that feel?"

"Good..." María said placing both her hands on her lap. She noticed Tami was expecting her to elaborate so she went on. "Great, actually. But I´d be lying to you if I say that I'm looking forward to it. I think I'm gonna miss all this…"

Tami laughed. "No, you won't. Trust me, you're gonna love college. A straight A student, on a full golf scholarship, well… I´m sure Dillon High memories will be soon behind you. And in the meantime we have Prom coming up. By the way I'd need some help with that if you don't mind…" Tami trailed off.

María had completely forgotten about Prom. She had no intention to go in the first place, and with everything that was going on in her life lately, that is, mainly seeing Tim and Billy getting engaged, it had completely slipped her mind. "Of course, Mrs. Taylor, I mean Tami... I had forgotten about Prom…"

"Aren´t you excited?" Tami could not understand why teenagers where not looking forward to Prom anymore like they used to do in her days. She could still remember how shocked she was when her daughter Julie had told her that she would not be going to Prom the year before, adding that it was lame. But María seemed to share Julie´s opinion. She tried to boost some enthusiasm. "I'm sure you already have a date for it…"

Without knowing, she had given María the clue to share all her concerns with her. "Actually, that's what I wanted to tell you about. I mean the date, not Prom…" she said relieved that she did not have to find the way to bring up the subject.

"Ok", Tami replied smiling, encouraging her to go on. María took a deep breath and held Mrs. Taylor´s gaze. "The thing is, I'm seeing someone. Nobody knows yet, we're keeping it low. It's been just two weeks, but I'm really happy." Tami immediately noticed that despite referring herself as "really happy", her eyes were not lit up at all. She could also sense that María was not comfortable at all addressing this matter, and again she tried to lighten the mood just focusing on the bright side.

"That´s great, María, I´m glad for you."

Tami's kind words made the trick and María finally partly relaxed. She was still nervous but she fixed her gaze on the wall in front of her and went on. "Thank you. The truth is, I did not expect it to be so good. I'm even considering having sex which is something that had never…"

As she heard the last line, Tami raised from the couch. "Hey, you know what? I'm just gonna close this door. Go on, please. Is someone pushing you to have sex, honey?" she worriedly asked while she sat back after closing the slinding glass door to the backyard where Eric was. María strongly shook her head. "No, not at all, please don´t get me wrong. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. Just the opposite, he's stopping me…"

Certainly, her students never ceased to surprise her. Regarding sex, it was completely unusual that a boy would stop a girl, it was usually the other way around. "Well, it's good to know that there're are still good boys out there" she quickly thought, which was a relief as a mother of two daughters, one of them a teenager.

"Well, he seems like a nice boy. I'm sure your mother has talked to you about that…" María nodded, and did her best to change the topic. Surprinsingly taking into account that she was seeing Tim and he had quite a reputation, she was not concerned about sex at all.

"Yes, she has. No, it´s not sex what I'm worried about, I know Timmy will never…" Tami had succeeded on creating a relaxed atmosphere and his name had just come out her mouth. She stopped talking and Tami warmly smiled. "So it's Tim then…" For some reason, Tami had not expected it to be Tim after what María had just shared with her regarding sex. She hid her surprise, though, thinking that her husband had been right to trust Tim and that he certainly deserved better luck in life.

María sighed and tried to focus again. She had intended to give no names at all, but she could not backpedal now. "Yes, it´s him. But it's not him I'm worried about. He's great, really, greater that I ever thought he would be. The thing is that I have feelings for someone else…" She could see how a confused look clouded Tami's face as she was speaking, and she made an attempt to provide all the information quick enough so that Mrs. Taylor would not be horrified, at least not too horrified. It really sounded awful out in the open. "It's just something platonic, he is older than me, in his mid-twenties, and nothing has ever happened… He …. He doesn´t know about these feelings of mine…"

"No doubt she´s confused and looking for someone to listen to her" Tami sadly thought. "María, how long has this been going on? I mean, how long have you had these feelings?" she asked trying to provide her with some clarity.

She frowned trying to remember a time when she felt nothing for Billy. "Not sure, I think maybe… always?… since I'm old enough? Don't really know. I found out at the end of last summer."

Tami tried hard to hide her growning confusion as she was afraid that María would shut down if she showed it. "So let me get this straight: you`re seeing Tim while you have feelings for someone else, right?" she inquired in a soft voice.

"Right, I know it sounds awful…"

Much to María´s relief, Tami waved her hands in a friendly way. "Honey, don't say that. Matters of the heart can be complicated, which is why it is so important to be careful about them." She was really thinking that what on earth she was doing dating Tim Riggins if she had strong feelings for someone else, but she kept it to herself. She was beginning to think that trying to cope with the fact that she had recently come home to a completely different life had something to do with it. Maybe Sue had been right to be worried about her being lonely for her senior year.

María gulped as she took in what Tami had just said. "I know. Looking back I think I was lonely and it was, I don't know how to explain it, kind of flattering that someone liked me after Jack. I just thought those feelings would go away if I started seeing Tim, but they are still there. It sounds so wrong when I say it out loud…"

"María, listen to me. You don't choose who you fall in love with. You can't. It doesn't work that way. No matter how hard you try, you can not control that. At all. And definitely, you should not play with it." She spoke slowly making sure that María understood what she was saying. And she did.

"I know. And I am worried because I think this is not fair for Tim. Not in the least. I think I'm being selfish. Of course he knows and says he's okay with it, but I can't help but feel bad when he tries to comfort me over the fact that this other person just got engaged and I'm not dealing well with the news, and..." She was rambling but she had just mentioned something that was a red flag to Tami, who raised her hand to stop her.

"Hold on María, just a sec, are you talking about Billy, Tim's brother?" Apparently the news had travelled fast and also Mrs. Taylor knew about his engagement. It was easy for her to tie up all the loose ends."I knew there was something going on when I saw them all the night before State, but what is she doing with Tim, then? This is not like her at all."


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

María then froze and lowered her gaze. "Yes," she mumbled, barely audible, not daring to look up. She could not remember being so embarrassed in her whole life. She focused on the bright part. "At least all cards are on the table now. She knows everything," and she felt better despite her embarrassment. So she locked eyes with Tami and voiced her main concerns. "I'm so sorry to bother you with this, but I feel like I need an outside perspective, preferably from an adult. And I trust you, Tami, I really do. And I'd prefer that my parents don't know about all this mess, at least for now."

Tami nodded. She was glad to see that María was coming back to her usual self. "Don't worry María, I'm here to listen and try and help you, and I won't tell your parents if this is just a matter of the heart, no matter how cheesy that sounds."

Definitely, she had made the right decision coming to Tami. "Thank you, I really appreciate it. I'm really worried that I'm being totally unfair to Tim. I thought that being with him would make those feelings for Billy go away. It was like building a wall, sort of having a shield, but that barrier is not working. And every time I see Billy it gets harder because I realize nothing has changed… I don't know…. maybe we should stop right now."

Tami nodded again. "I think you're right, María. Y'all should stop before any of you gets hurt. And, believe me, that's what usually ends up happening."

That sounded rational. "Yes, I think I've know that from the beginning, but I was too lonely, or too flattered to do it. It's funny because I took my time before getting involved with Tim, I really gave thought to it. Clearly my judgement was clouded…"

Tami tried to play it down, María was feeling bad enough. "Don't be so hard on you. Sometimes it is easy to look back and regret the choices we made, but maybe we had little room for manoeuvre back then given the circunstances. That's why it is so important to be able to react as soon as we realize it. We all make mistakes María, and we learn from them."

Suddenly Tami realized that maybe she could actually do something to make things easier for her. "María, would you like to stop tutoring Tim? It would not be a problem, we can…"

María strongly shook her head. "No, that's not a possibility, Mrs. Taylor. Tim has to graduate and we should not risk that. All this it's not his fault. And as I've told you before, he helps me focus." Tami loved that she was so generous, but she had a feeling María would not be comfortable studing with him if they had been so close. "Ok, just let me know if you change your mind."

"Will do." María took a deep breath. She should tell Mrs. Taylor about all her concerns. "There's another question that's bugging me. I am well aware that it is a crazy thought, but I'd like to share it with you, if you don't mind…"

"Sure, go ahead." Tami braced herself for impact. Right then she could not think of anything crazier than what they had just been discussing.

"It's just that… do you think I should tell Billy how I feel about him, before he gets married? On one hand, I think that if I don't do it, I'll always regret it, but, on the other hand, I don't think that there is the slightest chance that he feels something for me, so why tell him?"

"Well…" Tami did not know what to say to that. María laughed for the first time since she had started talking. "I told you it was crazy…"

"No, it's not. I hear you, I totally hear you, but I think both your points are right and there's no much I can add to that. Do you think you'd be comfortable telling him?" she asked seeking for some insight about their actual friendship.

María stopped to think for a moment. "I think I'd be, we've been close friends growing up. What really scares me is the possibility of losing him as a friend after I tell him. I'm not ready for that. I know that we are not close now and we lead completely different lives, but he's been the most important person in my life besides my parents and I'd rather not risk his friendship."

Tami clearly remembered both of them leaving the bar at the hotel the night before State, and how in sync they seemed to be. It was obvious for her that they shared a special connection, but she did not know Billy well enough and the last thing she wanted to do was to raise false hopes for María. She had been brave to come to her looking for advice and she wanted to do her best to help her. She did not need any more confusion, and the truth was that she had answered her question herself. "Well, María, I guess that answers your question."

María sighed again. "Yeah, I guess it does. Thanks, Mrs. Taylor."

"You're welcome, María, but I have to say I just helped you to speak it out loudly, I think you already knew what you have to do, regarding both Tim and Billy."

María shook her head. "No, seriously, thank you. You really helped me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get home, it's getting late."

Tami was glad to see that she was back to her usual self. "Of course, María. And please do not hesitate to come to me for anything you may need. Come on, I'll give you a ride home."

After a quiet drive through the streets of Dillon, Tami felt the need to add something when she pulled over at María's.

"Hey, María, just one more thing. I remember a superb speech given by a brilliant student who was made captain of the soccer team as soon as she came home after being away for three years, right before school started. She focused on the importance of giving more than your 100% every single day and remembering how far you have already come whenever you doubt yourself and wonder if you can go on. Does that ring a bell?"

María smiled and nodded. "It does. I can't believe you remember that…" she quickly answered, blusing.

"Oh, how could I forget it… Coach Taylor was speaking about your speech for weeks… Well, the girl that delivered that speech is right in front of me now. And I just want to let her know that she should not doubt herself, not at all, and, if she does, she has to remember how far she's already come. María, you've great qualities and you'll go places. Don't let all this make you forget who you are and what you really want."

María nodded again. "Thank you, Mrs Taylor," she managed to say with a lump in her throat.

She stayed at home all Sunday, claiming that she had to study algebra for the exam she had on the following day. She knew that Tim would be at the shop helping Billy with some cars, so they would not be studying together for once. But instead of studying, she spent most of the day rewinding her conversation with Tami the day before. By the time she had dinner with her parents, she was determined to break up with Tim, and the fact that she could barely hear her parents talk about Billy and Mindy removed any doubt as to it.

They had just sat down to eat when Sue suddenly started talking. "Hey, I almost forget to tell you that I run into Mindy Collette at the grocery's yesterday and she told me that she got engaged to Billy Riggins a few days ago. She was over the moon and she told me..."

"Who wouldn't be..." María sadly thought. She started playing with the food on her plate in an effort to avoid a conversation on that topic. But her father was apparently talking to her now. "Earth to María... sweetheart, are you alright? You seem to be a world away... " She raised her gaze from her plate and looked at Mac. She was not hungry anymore.

"Sorry, dad, I got distracted. What were you saying?" she asked hoping they had moved on another topic. "I was asking you if you knew about this. It's a big surprise..." They were still talking about Billy and Mindy. She tried to play it down.

"Not really dad, they have been going out for a while now...", but her mother was eager to share every detail the new bride-to-be had told her. "Mindy said they have just been together for five months. Isn't that romantic?" Sue chimed in. And now both her parents were looking at her. "Do they really want me to answer that?" "Yes, mom, it is," she softly replied.

"Sure it is. They are both good kids, I hope they have a long and happy life together," Mac said. Who would have guessed that Mac was a romantic at heart? And then Sue threw the bomb without knowing it. "And Mindy also told me the wedding will be in two months tops, and that we're all invited. Billy will bring the invitations as soon as they have a date."

It was getting worse every minute. Not only was she still getting used to the fact that Billy was marrying someone else, but she also had to attend the wedding. She managed to mumble something about studying for her exam, and asked if she could go to her room. As she left the table, Mac and Sue looked at each other. "You think she's okay?" he asked. Sue nodded smiling. "Yeah, I think so. She's just eighteen and in love, probably for the first time in her life." She was not all that far off the mark, but she had María's object of affection wrong, as she was sure it was Tim. "You think we should worry?" Mac questioned in a low voice. "No, if something was wrong I'm sure she would ask for help. She's just distracted," Sue said trying to reassure her husband despite being a little bit worried herself.

When María headed for her locker to get the books for her first class the following morning, she spotted Tim talking to some of his teammates at the end of the hallway. As soon as she saw him, she knew she had to tell him she wanted to break up with him right away. She was afraid that if she spent some time with him she would lack the courage to tell him afterwards. After her conversation with Tami on Saturday and long thought the previous day, she was positive it was the right thing to do, but she did not want to. So she decided to forego her Spanish class and went down the hallway as most of the students were heading for their classes. By the time she reached Tim's group, the hall was almost empty and he had fallen behind waiting for her.

"Hi boys," she greeted as she walked by them. Matt, Landry and Bradley said "Hi" and took off to their classes while Tim leant on the wall. "Hi," he said. María had a strange look on her face. "Everything all right, Mars?" he asked smiling mischievously. That was the kind of smile that drove her crazy so she grabbed his hand and dragged him along the corridor before he could something that would change her mind. "I have to talk to you."

"But we'll miss… not that I'm complaining but you…" he mumbled. María said nothing and quickly opened the door to the same utility closet they had been inside a few days ago, tugging his shirt while doing so and closing the door after him. Tim read it completely wrong, putting his hands on her waist, turning both of them around and pinning her against the door. When he kissed her and started undoing the bun on her hair, she felt her resolution fade, closed her eyes and held on the back his neck firmly as she kissed him back. And it took her all her self control to try and stop him when he was about to begin nibbling her collarbone.

"Timmy… I really need to talk to you…" she softly said. "Mmm-hmm, I'm listening," he whispered in her ear. "Not like this…" she managed to whisper. There was something in her tone that alarmed him, so he pulled back keeping his hands on her waist. He locked eyes with her and apologized. "Sorry, I thought… I'm all ears."

"It's ok, you don't have to apologize. It's just that… I think we should stop…" she said taking his hands in hers. He chuckled. "We've already stopped, Mars…" She shook her head and lowered her gaze fixing it on their intertwined fingers. When she looked up at him again and saw his true smile, she gulped and gently squeezed his hands. "That's not what I mean… we should stop… seeing each other like this…" she whispered and looked down again.

Tim shook his head in disbelief and let her hands go, cupping her face and making her look at him. "You breaking up with me?" "I guess I am," she replied, her voice barely audible. He caressed both her cheeks and softly asked, "That's what you want?" She placed her arms around his waist, leaning against his body. "No, I don't. But I do think we should." As soon as she said that, she hid her face on his chest and he hugged her, playing with her hair. "Because…" he trailed off.

"Because I'm being selfish, Timmy. This is not fair to you. I'm using you as a wall and it's not working…" He pulled back and cupped her face again. "I thought we were good together…""Oh, this is gonna be harder than expected," María thought to herself, closing her eyes. She could not hold his gaze; she dared that if she did, he would talk her out of breaking up just by looking at her with those wonderful eyes of his. She leant her forehead on his chest once more and took a deep breath. "Yeah, we are, great actually… but I can't help the way I feel about Billy and if we keep doing this we're gonna get hurt… It's not too late now…"

"Are you sure?" She nodded against the soft fabric of his t-shirt. "I am," she said trying to keep her voice steady. "Okay then, whatever you want." When she heard that, she raised her head. "I'm sorry, Timmy." He stepped back and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Me too." María did not know what to say next. "I guess this is it then." He shrugged. "Guess it is…"

"We should get going, we're gonna be very late," she said gathering her hair in a new bun. "You go, I don't feel like going to a boring class now…" She took his arm and led him to the door. "Come on, Timmy…" Very much to her surprise, he moved away when she touched his forearm. "It's not your business anymore, is it?" She tried to keep calm. "It's still my business as I hope you're still my friend and I'm still your tutor. Will you still give a ride home, or should I wait for my dad this afternoon?" she said crossing her arms on her chest by the door.

He realized he was being a jerk, and she did not deserve it. This was all his doing, he should have never gone after her knowing that she had feelings for Billy. Now he could see it clearly, but he was so desperate to forget Lyla and move on and he was so comfortable with María in every way that he just jumped in the deep end. That, and the fact that he really liked her. He was sure that he would have fallen for her easily if it was not for Lyla. "I will," he grunted.

"Thank you Timmy, see you later then." She opened the door and instead of going to her Spanish class, she went to the soccer locker room. She needed some time alone and that was the best place she could think of for that. If someone showed up, she could always say that she was there to get something. She sat on the bench beside her locker, placed her feet on the side of the bench, put her arms on her knees and rested her forehead on them. Tears began to silently fall from her eyes, and she let them flow until it was time for her algebra exam.

True to his word, that afternoon Tim was waiting for her by his truck as usual. They both said a shy "Hi" and the ride to María's was silent. When he pulled over in her driveway and she was about to open the passenger door he finally spoke for the first time. "Mars, wait up." She turned around and looked at him. "I'm sorry. Of course I'm still your friend and you're still my tutor." She smiled. "It's ok, Timmy, really."

"No, it's not. I should've never gone after you knowing what you feel for Billy." She tried to stop him from saying anything he could not take back later. Things were already complicated enough. "Timmy… don't…" Yet he went on. "But I really like you…"

She sighed. He definitely was not going to let it go. "I really like you, too Timmy. I guess all this got out of hand… Do you think we can go back to being just friends, close friends? I'd really like that…" He nodded. "I promised, remember?" "Yes. Come on, it's getting late. I've got tons of homework and so do you." And with that she hopped out the truck, hoping that her mother would be home so they would not have the chance to resume this conversation.

That night, while María was finally sleeping soundly for the first time in days, two people were thinking about her.

The first one was Tami, who had been thinking about María and their talk for the last two days. She had proved to be the best student and one of the best athletes in Dillon High, and Tami had thought from the minute she saw her again when she came back from Florida that she was caring, generous, sensible, humble and dealt with matters as an adult. So she was completely taken aback when María had shared with her this whole mess about Tim and Billy. Students shared with her all kind of stories when they sat down in her office, so she was used to stories like that, and much, much worse, but she never thought it would be María the one doing that.

Well, to be completely honest, she had to give María some credit. She had indeed dealt with it as an adult, as in the end she had sought for help and advice from an adult. Tami was very proud of her for that, not everyone would have done it. She wished her daughters would do the same given the case. And she had to be fair, too. Maybe Tami herself had played a part in the genesis of this mess pairing her up with Tim for tutoring. But Eric had insisted on it claiming there were longlife friends, and Tim had been doing much better than ever both at school and on the football field. No, she did not regret pairing them up. Even now, with everything that was going on, María would not stop tutoring him. That had to mean something.

She wished she could share all this with Eric, who was snoring by her side. He was having a hard time with all the school redistricting rumors and McCoys interference in the team ("Can you believe that he wants Wade Aikmen to call all the plays. Mac calls my plays! I made that clear to him…" he had worriedly shared with her earlier that evening), and she did not want to wake him up. She would not do it to tell him "I told you so and you did not listen to me", but to let him know that it was days like this when she could feel that her job could make a difference out there. And that she was very proud of María.

She was also trying to find a way to tell Sue that they should take pride in the way their daughter dealt with matters. She had told María that she would not tell her parents about this whole mess with Tim and Billy, and she was determined to honor that, but she wanted to let Sue know that they could sleep soundly at night, they had raised her well. She was certain that as a mother she would like to know that if it was Julie instead of María. But she was really finding it difficult to convey that without betraying María's trust or scaring Sue for nothing.

The other person thinking about María late that night was Billy, which was nothing new. Mindy had been working that evening and he was home when Tim arrived much earlier than usual. After extended pleas on his part and at least five bottles of beer (Billy had not seen him driking like that for a long time), Tim had told him that he had not stayed at the McGills' for dinner because María had broken up with him.

"Can you believe it, Billy, only two weeks and we were great…" he managed to slur. "I'm sorry, man…" He did not know what else to say. On one hand he was relieved that he would no longer be jealous of his own brother, but on the other he thought that if she had to be with someone, he preferred that at least it was Timmy. He felt it was kind of sick, but he was certain Tim would never hurt her.

"And you know what the worst thing is? I promised her we'd be still friends if it didn't work…" Tim was not only disappointed, but he seemed to be worried, too. "And now you don't know if you'll be able to do that…" Billy trailed off. "Exactly…" "Well, Timmy, time to man up. It's María, remember? No matter what happened between you two, I think she deserves you make the effort," Billy said before finishing his beer in one sip.

More than three hours and a few more beers had gone by after that conversation, and Billy could not sleep. Sure he was drunk, but there was something that did not add up in Tim and María's breakup. What reason could María have to break up with him after only two weeks, when they knew each other so well? Tim seemed to be really disappointed, and something was off with María when he saw her at the Taylors' on Saturday. "What's going on with her? Is she all right?"

When María woke up the following morning, she felt like if a heavy burden had been taken off her shoulders. Of course she was worried about Tim and his reaction to the breakup, but she was confident they could be friends again. They just needed some time, and she was determined to enjoy the last part of her senior year, Tim or not Tim around.

In the end it took Tim a couple of weeks to go back to being just friends with María, but what really made the trick was that he was on speaking terms with Lyla again. Well, more than just speaking terms, and he was looking forward to sharing it with María. He just blurted it out one afternoon while they were writing their English papers. "I was with Lyla last night," he said looking at her waiting for her reaction. María looked up from her assignment and smiled. "Really?" "Yeah" he mumbled while writing another word. Seeing her smile had made him happy and he was looking down trying to hide his big grin. "And? That's all you have to say? Timmy, that's huge… I'm so happy for you." And from then on everything seemed to be back to normal.

At the same time Tami sought for María's help regarding Prom. Preparations were starting soon and as she had told her before, she could use her help, so María immersed herself in all kind of arrangements for a dance she did not intend to attend. Althought not looking forward to Prom itself at all, she did welcome the chance to be as busy as possible, as her former resolution to enjoy the rest of her senior year was fading as days went by. The truth was that she felt miserable, and in that state of mind it was really difficult to enjoy anything. Even worse, pleople around her were noticing it and she was getting a little bit tired of saying "Don't worry, I'm fine" to her parents and Tim. She was beginning to sound like a long playing record, and spending time with Tami in her office discussing music, flowers and arrangements for the school gym suddenly seemed the best possible plan to her.

While she had never intended to go to Prom despite all the work she was putting into it, she came close to actually going as Bradley asked her to be his date. It was so unexpected that it caught her completely off guard. One minute she was heading for soccer practice and the next Bradley was shyly telling her that he would be thrilled if she agreed to be his date for Prom with a big smile on his face.

He noticed her hesitating and it gave him strength to insist, as he was really expecting a "no" in the first place. "Please María, think about it. Don't need an answer right now, but I'd like it to be a yes. Let me know," he softly said turning around.

"No, wait." She did not want to make the same mistake again. "Bradley, as I told you before, under different circumstances I wouldn't hesitate to be your date for Prom. I'd really be honored. I know you're a great guy. But I just can't right now."

He nodded, remembering their conversation just before State. "That guy still on your mind?" he softly asked. "Yeah." She did not want to elaborate and he misunderstood it. "Listen, María, I know Riggs and Lyla are together again. If it's him, I really don't mind…" Most girls in Dillon High had a crush on Tim Riggins. He certainly would not mind.

"No, it's not him, Bradley. I'm sorry, I just can't." That was all she was going to share with him. "Ok, if you change your mind you know where to find me," he said. "Thank you, Bradley." María could see that he was still smiling, sadly this time, before turning around, and she felt bad again.

Yet María was not the only one feeling miserable, Billy was, too, aggravated by the fact that he should be ecstatic planning his own wedding. But he kept pushing back all kind of arrangements and making up excuses in order not to set a date yet. While Mindy was beginning to sense that something was off, he felt trapped in a life he did not want anymore.

All of a sudden beer seemed to be too weak and he had moved on on stronger stuff like whiskey or gin, taking it whenever he had the chance. Knowing that he had to stop the heavy drinking he had been doing for the last few months and in an effort to deal with that by keeping himself busy, he had decided to keep the car shop opened through the weekends. Mindy had been mad at him for it, claiming that they would barely had a chance to spend time together if he worked on the weekends too, but he had managed to convice her that otherwise they would not be able to afford the kind of wedding she wanted.

And he was working on the shop one Saturday afternoon when Tom Clance, one of his former classmates in Dillon High, parked by the main entrance. They had been close growing up, as Tom had also been a Panther, but he went to college and they had lost contact until he had recently come back home to help his father run his business.

"Hey Riggins, thank you for taking my car today on such a short notice. Really appreciate it, man. I had completely forgotten about the oil change until today, and I'm heading for Houston on Monday," Tom said shaking Billy's hand.

"Hey Clance, sure. You'll have it ready for that. I'll give you a call." Billy knew that Mindy would be angry if he had to do overtime to take care of Tom's car, but he was not going to let him down. Business was finally on its way to actually making some money and the fact that they were open on weekends was really making a difference.

"That's great, man. That's sad about Mac, isn't it?"

Billy did not have a clue what Tom was talking about. "Mac?"

"Seriously, you haven't heard? I thought you'd know you being friends with his daughter and all…" He could not believe Billy did not know. Mac's daughter and he used to be thick as thieves. Tom could clearly remember how they would be together almost everywhere: at the range, at Mac's house when he hosted his barbeques and when the team captains would go over to watch some game tapes,… Unlike other teenagers, Billy did not seem to be bothered by the little girl. In fact, it was obvious for everyone that he liked her company, which was funny considering his reputation as a flirtatious tough football player when he was in high school. Billy was not aware of it then, but he won his way to a few girls' hearts when they noticed the way he would be with María when she was around.

"What's going on with Mac, Clance?" Billy worriedly asked, fearing for his answer. If it was something bad, it would hit María directly.

"He suffered a stroke early this morning. Apparently he collapsed on his backyard and his daughter found him. It's said that she saved his life by dragging him all the way to the car and driving him to the hospital. Doctors are sure he would have not made it should have they waited for the ambulance. He's in critical condition. I'm sorry Riggs, I hate to be the one breaking the news…"


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Billy narrowed his eyes and gulped. What Tom was telling him was bad, very bad indeed, and María was dealing with it from the very first moment. "No, thank you man… You know what hospital he's?" he managed to say. His mind was already spinning.

"Dillon General, I think."

"Okay, Clance, sorry, I have to run. I'll call you about your car," Billy said running for his keys.

It only took himy ten minutes to arrive to Dillon General Hospital. He could not stop thinking about Mac and María the whole ride to the hospital. He knew that finding her father collapsed on the ground must have been a terrible experience for her, and the fact that she had dragged him all the way out to the car as Clance had told him… Well, that girl was strong. He had tried her cell phone while driving but it kept going straight to voicemail.

As he arrived to the ER, he avoided the long line and rushed into the waiting room trying to spot Sue or María. According to Clance, Mac was in critical condition, so maybe he had been moved to the ICU. Seeing a young nurse walking down the hall to the cafeteria, he decided to put in use some of his charm in order to get some information about Mac. He did not know how or why, but it still worked most of the times.

"Excuse me…" he said approaching her. "Cindy, it's Cindy, right? Beautiful name for a beautiful woman…."

"Yes, it is," she answered blushing. "Cindy I mean…" she chuckled. "Can I help you?"

It looked good. "Certainly, Cindy. I'm looking for a man that came in critical condition this morning, McGill, a stroke…" he trailed off widely smiling to her. Mindy would kill him if she saw him right then, but he was not going to be the one to tell her. It was worth the try.

"Are you family?" she curiously asked.

"No, I'm not family, but I'm like family, you know what I mean…" he said showing what he thought to be a bright smile. He felt weird flirting, although he knew he was doing it for a good reason. "Maybe I'm a little bit rusty at this…"

She sadly looked at him. "Sorry, in that case I can't…"

Certainly, he was rusty at this. He decided to play the pity card. "Cindy, please, this man's really like family to me. I'm not asking about his condition, or anything private, I'm only asking to know what part of the hospital he's in, so I can be there with his family. They are not in the ER."

She did not seem to react to his words so he pleaded again. "Please."

Something in the soft way he was asking touched Cindy's heart. She could sense that he was really worried and he was not demanding any private information. "Okay, hold on please," she whispered in order not to be heard by any coworker. She went over a desk, Billy following her, and typed something on the computer. "He's in surgery right now."

"Ok, thank you so much Cindy." She forwarded him a piece of paper. "Anytime," she said leaving for the ER. As she was strolling down the hall, Billy noticed what she had written on the paper. "Call me" and her digits. "I'm not rusty after all…" he quickly thought while looking for the waiting area by the ORs.

Once he had unsuccessfully seached for Sue and María in every waiting room of the hospital, he was about to give up when he found himself in front of two big wooden doors that led to the chapel. He knew it was a long shot, he could not picture them in there while Mac was in surgery, but he had looked everywhere and they were nowhere to be found, so he thought it was worth trying.

Not wanting to disturb anyone that would be in the chapel, Billy carefully pushed one of the doors, and it wildly opened without a sound, which encorauged him to go on. It was dark inside the chapel, the only light being the fading afternoon sunlight that filtered through the small stained glass windows and some candles on the altar, and he took his time to adjust his sight to it.

After a few seconds, he could see that all the pews were empty. He was ready to turn around to leave the chapel when a shadow on one side of the farthest wall caught his eye. As he fixed his gaze on it, he realized it was María sitting on the floor by the wall, knees up, her forehead leaning on them. Clearly she had not even registered that someone had entered the chapel, as she could not see the door from where she was and Billy had not made any noise.

Instinctively, he approached her quietly, not saying a word until he had sat beside her on the hard and cold marble floor. "Hey," he dared to whisper.

She raised her head and tried to smile when she saw him there. "Hey, Billy." Her eyes were red and swollen, and dry tracks from her tears could be seen on her face. She was wearing shorts, a soccer t-shirt and running shoes, and her hair was up in a loose ponytail.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," he softly said throwing his arm on her shoulders and hugging her."The noise in the waiting room was driving me crazy…" she mumbled against his chest. "How is he?" he whispered in her ear. "In surgery, it'll be long, didn't look well when they took him."

He did not know what to say. She seemed to be calm. "I'm so sorry, M. Where's your mom?" She broke the embrace and tried to wipe her face, tears were slowly running down her cheeks. "Last time I talked to her she was at Dallas airport trying to get a flight to Midland. She'd gone to the ranch this weekend to help my aunt with the wedding. My phone's dead now, I hope she's already on her way here."

Maybe there was a way he could help. "How's she coming from Midland? Want me go pick her up?" he asked wiping her tears with his thumb.

"Would you do that?" she said eyes wide open.

It crossed his mind that maybe he had been too hasty and she would prefer to have some company. She must have been there alone for hours by then. "Sure. But if you prefer that I stay here with you till she gets here…"

She shook her head. "No, if it's ok with you, please go. At least I'm here in the front row of everything, she must be feeling horrible being far away and just having little pieces of information. And the Taylors are on their way back from Lubbock. Turns out Coach Taylor is my dad's emergency contact after my mom. They'll be here soon, I won't be alone."

"Ok, I'll go then."

She rested her head on his chest and nodded against his work shirt. "Thank you. But please not yet," she whispered placing her arms around his waist and burying her face deeper into his chest. "I'll be here as long as you want me to," he said hugging her again.

Once she had settled in his embrace, she started talking again. "I was going for a run. That was the reason I was up so early on a Saturday. I saw him collapsed on the backyard from the kitchen window, and when I reached him he was not responding at all. I was so terrified to think, I just dragged him all the way to the car and brought him here driving over the speed limit… I don't know what got into me…"

"You were scared, and you did great…" he said caressing her back trying to calm her down. Clearly talking about Mac distressed her. A quick thought rushed through his mind. She had been on her own there for a long time. "You eaten?" She shook her head against his chest. "No. I was vomiting non stop for the first hour I was here. Please don't make eat right now…" she whispered holding his waist tighter. "I won't, but promise me you'll eat in a while." She just nodded and she seemed to calm down once more.

But all of a sudden she pulled back from his chest to lock eyes with him, face to face. "Billy, when we got here he was in cardiac arrest too…" Panic was evident on her green eyes. "I'm sorry, M…" He did not know what else to say. "He's in really bad shape…" Tears began to flow from her eyes again and he held her closer kissing her wet cheek trying to comfort her. That gesture somehow triggered her long hidden feelings, and when she felt his lips on her skin she slightly moved her head and placed her lips on his, kissing him softly. Billy froze at first, but he did not move away.

When María realized what she was doing, she quickly pulled back and looked at him. "Billy, I'm so sorry…, I should've never…" but she could not finish her line as Billy was now cupping her face and kissing her back. This time it was a long, deep kiss, completely different from the one María had initiated, and none of them pulled back until they had to gasp for air. Too confused to say anything, they broke the embrace and just stared at each other trying to catch their breath again.

And that is how Tami found them when she went into the chapel looking for María a few minutes later. They were both sitting on the floor by the wall, just looking at each other, hands resting on their laps.

"Hey, honey, there you are! Oh, hey Billy," Tami whispered while they stood up and she hugged María. If she thought it was weird to find both of them together sitting on the floor of the chapel like that, she did not show it at all. "Eric is out there by the desk trying to get an update on your dad. How're you holding up?"

María tried to smile at Tami and then looked at Billy, who seemed to be at least as confused as she was. He cleared his throat. "Now Mrs. Taylor is here, I'll go pick up your mom," he said. "Thank you Billy." And she turned to Tami. "Mom is coming from Dallas into Midland airport. Billy offered to go."

"Oh, Billy, that's so great. I'm sure María will feel better knowing that Sue is with you and not driving a rental car all the way here under these circunstances. Thank you so much." Not for the first time in the last months, Tami could see now why Eric trusted the Riggins boys.

"Anytime. I'd better get going. Please make sure she eats something." Before heading for the doors of the chapel, he locked eyes with María and nodded. She just nodded back at him and Tami felt like an outsider watching the way they wordlessly interacted. They were able to communicate like a long time married couple. Tami was well aware of María's feelings for him, and seeing them together like that made her think that she had not been wrong to think that Billy may feel the same way for her. But the fact was that as long as Tami knew, he was an engaged man and he should keep those feelings and those looks for his fiancé. She then wondered if Mindy knew the extent of their friendship and, if she did, how she felt about it. But they all were at the hospital because Mac was in critical condition, having surgery at the moment, and Tami had to focus on helping María and Sue.

"Come on, María, let's go find if there is an update…" Tami said taking María by her waist and leading her to the doors of the chapel. María just nodded. She was exhausted from the situation with her dad, and still confused about the kisses Billy and she had just shared. She could not believe she had kissed him, and she felt the urgent need to apologise as soon as possible. It never occurred to her that he had kissed her back.

By the time Sue and Billy arrived from Midland airport, María had managed to eat a sandwich and keep it in her stomach so far and still there was no update on Mac's condition. All that Eric had been able to find out after much insisting was that he was still in surgery. As María saw her mother entering the waiting room, she stood from the uncomfortable plastic chair and ran to hug her, silently crying. Billy, who had entered the room with Sue, politedly waited by the door trying to give them some privacy.

When they finally sat down after Eric and Tami had greeted Sue, Billy stepped up and stood by María. He locked eyes with her and was relieved to see that at least she looked better than when he had found her in the chapel. He placed his left hand on her shoulder and placed a hoodie on her lap with his right one. He had noticed earlier that she was still in her running gear and she would be cold sooner or later, so while waiting for Sue at Midland airport he had turned his truck upside down looking for something that would keep María warm until she had the chance to go home and change. He had been thinking about her since he had left the hospital and wondered how he had been able to drive safely all the way to Midland. He was thankful he had not been drinking yet when Clance came into the shop, but his hands had been shaking all the drive to the airport and he was happy to have something to do while he waited. He was delighted when he found his State hoodie neatly folded in one of the far corners of the wide trunk. He could remember María proudly wearing it despite being too big for her when most of the players, coaches and family and friends gathered at Mac's after the big parade when they won State years ago.

It was so well folded that María did not recognize it on her lap. She reached for his hand and squeezed it, silently thanking him, and he turned around to talk to Sue. "I should get going now. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, Mrs. McGill." Sue hugged him unexpectedly. "You've done a lot, Billy, thank you so much."

When he waived goodbye to the Taylors, he cast a last look at María, who fixed her gaze on him. He nodded and she nodded back. As he left the waiting room, María felt the need to run after Billy to thank him from bringing her mom from Midland and caring about her, and also to apologise for the kisses they had shared in the chapel a few hours before. She was too worried about Mac to think properly, but she knew she should have never started kissing him. No matter what kind feelings she harbored, he was engaged and she should have born that in mind when he had tried to comfort her on the cold floor of the chapel.

She still had not had the time to realize that she had been so scared when Billy found her that all her barriers and shields were down and she had not been able to hide her feelings for long. It was completely understandable from the outside, but despite her current worry about Mac, she was starting to think badly about herself. She could not belive she had kissed an engaged man in a hospital chapel while waiting for her father's urgent surgery outcome. That was not the way she had been raised, and a mixture of guilt and shame was building up inside her.

Billy would have also loved to have a private moment with her to tell her that Mac was a strong man and if there was someone that could pull through something like that, it was him, and also to apologise for kissing her. He was beginning to think that he had taken advantage of her at her lowest moment. Not only had he forgotten about Mindy, but he had done it at María's worst, when she had no way to defend herself and stop him had she wanted to. He was so ashamed that he had not registered the fact that she had kissed him first.

And when he thought about Mindy on his drive home he felt much worse, if that was even possible. He already felt guilty enough when he could not stop thinking about María and dreaming of her almost every night. But now the situation had escalated, he had taken one step further and heavy guilt and remorse were washing over him. Mindy had been calling and texting him all afternoon, but he had dodged all her calls and texts, and she had stopped calling eventually, thinking that he had been probably too busy at the shop and that he would contact her whenever he was finished with work for the day. She did not know that he did not intend to call her at least during the following hours. He was worried sick about Mac, and he needed some calm and quiet to process his encounter with María in the hospital chapel.

An hour after Billy had left the hospital, two doctors in blue scrubs stepped into the waiting room and went directly to Sue. She had been working in that hospital for twenty years so most of her coworkers knew her well.

She stood up as soon as she saw them, María and the Taylors gathering around them. "Rod, George, how is he?" Sue firmly asked. One of them, who seemed to be the one that had led the surgery team, took her arm and helped her back on the chair again. When María saw it, she took it as a bad sign and silent tears began to fall down her cheeks. She did not try to wipe them off, focusing on what the doctors were about to say.

"Well, Sue, we're not going to sugarcoat it for you. You know the drill. But we have some good news. He pulled through surgery, and, honestly, we didn't think he would when we took him to the OR as he was in very bad condition. But he is far from being out of the woods. Once he's out of surgery, next days are critical. If he makes it, there is no reason to believe he won't make a full recovery, after a long road of treatment. But, honestly, we don't know how the next days are going to be. I'm sorry we can't be anymore specific, Sue..."

"No, it's all right, Rod, I understand," Sue said hugging María who had stopped crying when she heard that Mac had make it through surgery. She had anticipated the worst when he doctor had led her mother to the chair.

Rod looked at them and addressed María. "It's María, right?" She nodded. "Well, María, your father owns his life to you. He's still alive because you waited no time at all and brought him in as soon as possible. Sue, you should all be very proud of María." Both mother and daughter mumbled a quiet "Thank you."

George, the second doctor that was in the waiting room, shyly spoke. "He's now in the ICU, in an induced coma to help him through the next days. You can both see him for five minutes if you want."

María would never forget the way her father looked in the ICU when they were able to see him for a short while right after his surgery. As soon as they entered the small room where his bed was, Sue run to hold his hand and María stood after her mother, looking at her father horrified. He had multiple wires and machines hooked up all over the upper part of his body, and his head had a strong bandage over it, allowing just one side of his face out of it. Several tubes and wires could also be seen through the bandage, and María was having trouble relating that man on the small hospital bed to his father.

Sue, who due to her work was used to this kind of scenario, noticed María's face and took her hand. "Hey, sweetheart, I know it looks bad but it's your dad. He has to be like this in order to get better..."

"I know, Mom, I know. It's just... do you think he can hear us?" she asked placing her shaking hand on her father's arm.

"Patients in a coma some times can hear, honey."

She nodded. "He'll be scared if he notices me crying, then..." She wiped her tears, took her father's hand in hers and tried to put on her best steady voice. "Hey, Dad, it's me, María. You pulled through surgery, we are so proud of you..." She hesitated and started talking again. "I'm sorry, Dad, I should have seen this coming. I'm really sorry..."

Sue looked at María worriedly and was going to ask what was all that about, but then two nurses from the ICU politedly told them that their time was up but they could stay for five more minutes if they wanted to. All Sue's coworkers understood what they were enduring and simpathized with them.

By the time Sue and María left the ICU and went back to the waiting area, María was feeling all the tensión of the day wear off and she was exhausted. She managed to sit on a corner chair while her mother talked with the Taylors. She could hear that she would spend the night at their house while Sue stayed at the hospital. At that point María did not care at all where she would spend the night. She would prefer just to go home on her own but she lacked the energy to disagree with her mother on that then. All she wanted to do was to bury her head on Billy's chest and cry, but she could guess that was not likely to happen.

When Billy arrived home from the hospital, he found Tim and Lyla stretched on the couch watching TV, two beers on the coffee table. "Hey, man. Where you been? Mindy couldn't get a hold on you," Tim mumbled his eyes fixed on the screen.

"Hey." Billy placed his keys on the kitchen counter and took a beer from the fridge. Something in the way he sat down on the recliner caught Tim's eye and he turned to look at his brother. What he saw startled him.

"You look like hell. You okay?" he asked.

Billy took a long sip from his beer and nodded. "I'm fine."

Definitely something was off and Tim was determined to drag it out of him. He untangled his arm from Lyla's shoulders and moved to the far side of the couch in order to face Billy.

"Bad day at the shop?" Tim asked. Lyla was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Clearly something was wrong with Billy and she thought he could use some brotherly time. She knew that if she wanted to make it work with Tim it was important that she would be on Billy's good graces, so she started gathering her things.

"You don't have to leave, Lyla," Billy said between gulps of beer.

"He's right, Lyla, you don't have to go," Tim said reaching for her hand.

"No, it's okay, it's getting late. I'll call you tomorrow, Tim," she said kissing him softly and leaving the house, closing the main door after her.

Tim then stood up from the couch and went to the fridge to retrieve two more bottles of beer. He handed one to Billy and sat again on the sofa.

"Come on, Billy, what's wrong?" Tim asked hoping that his brother would talk to him. He really looked tired and worried.

"Been at the hospital. Mac McGill had a stroke early this morning. Tom Clance came by the shop this afternoon and told me, so I went there. He was in surgery and María was waiting alone because her mother was trying to get back from Dallas and the Taylors were coming from Lubbock," he slowly said playing with the bottle label.

When he saw that Tim was suddenly up gathering his wallet and his keys, he tried to stop him. "She's not alone anymore, Timmy. I picked up her mom from Midland airport and the Taylors are also there with them." He was glad to see that Tim had not hesitated to try and help María despite their recent breakup.

Tim sat down again and looked at Billy. "She all right? How's Mac?"

"Still in surgery when I left. María said he was in very bad shape. She found him on the backyard and dragged him all the way to their car in their driveway and drove him to the hospital. Apparently that saved his life…" Billy trailed off trying to keep his voice steady. He was really proud of María but did not want to get too emotional in front of Tim. At least not yet. The kisses they had shared in the chapel that afternoon were still lingering in his mind and he had to figure out what to do next by his own. And deep inside he was afraid of Tim's reaction if he ever discovered his true feelings for María.

"Atta girl…" Tim proudly whispered.

"Yeah… Listen Timmy, this looks bad, very bad. Either Mac makes it or not, I hope he does, María's really gonna need you. I know you're with Lyla now, but she's really gonna need all her friends. She has very tough times ahead of her. And you know how she is, she's not gonna let anyone in unless it´s Miles or you,…" Billy said trying to help María from a distance.

"Or you…" Tim softly said. "If that's the case she's gonna need you much more than Miles or me. Miles is in college and I… I'm not sure she'd like me around for that, she broke up with me a few weeks back and …"

"I don't know what happened between you two, but she's gonna need you, Timmy, please be there for her," Billy repeated not letting Tim finish what he was about to say.

Tim looked at his brother helpless. "Why can't it be you, Billy? Trust me, she'd prefer you over Miles or me. Can´t you see that?" He was positive she would prefer Billy over the rest of her close friends. He was finding it difficult to make Billy understand that without telling him what María really felt for him, but he had promised María he would not tell Billy.

"Tim, I can't…." The way Billy was insisting on asking him to be there for María, not wanting to do it himself and giving him no reason for it suddenly brought back his suspicions about Billy's real feelings for her.

"Why? Because you have feelings for her? Is that it?" Tim blurted it without thinking but the way Billy was now looking down, avoiding his gaze, told him that he had just hit the nail on the head.

"Oh, man, it is…" Tim mumbled shocked. He shook his head in disbelief. "Billy, I asked you at least twice before I got involved with her, and you just…" Tim could feel anger and rage building in him, and he stood up from the couch to face Billy instinctively closing his right hand in a fist. That night of the party when he had brought a drunken María to their place vividly came to his mind. He had asked Billy about his feelings for her and he had believed everything his brother had told him while they shared a six-pack of beer on their couch, like old times, dispelling all his doubts. "He just told me what I wanted to hear, and I just wanted to believe it." "How could you lie to me about that, Billy?" he finally asked with a hurt look on his face, sitting again on the couch.

His brother´s reaction was not what Tim had expected. Billy just raised his head and looked at his little brother. He did look like hell. "I know, I'm sorry Tim. I did lie to you. I thought that if we all went on with our lives all these feelings would go away. You'd forget about Lyla and I'd forget about María. A win-win situation, everything under control. And if she had to be with someone, well, I'd prefer it was you. I know you would never hurt her. But please don't tell her any of this, please?"

Tim was still shaking his head in disbelief. "Okay, I won't. But I'd have never started anything with her if you had told me when I asked." All of a sudden Mindy came to his mind. "And Mindy? Her part in all this? You're engaged man…" he said slowly placing the beer on the coffee table.

"I know, Timmy, believe me, I know. I messed up big time. But I plan to end that before it's too late. I want to do it right, if that's possible…" He was telling Tim the truth. On his ride home from the hospital he had made up his mind about breaking up with Mindy. He was convinced that María had only kissed him out of fear and angst, and he was not hoping for a relationship with her at all, but he way he had felt kissing her had made him realize that he would never feel like that with Mindy, no matter how hard he tried. And Mindy deserved someone who really loved her.

"Okay, if there's something I can do to help…" Tim mumbled feeling guilty about his previous outburst. Billy was really in a tough spot and he needed his support, not his anger.

Billy smiled for the first time since he had arrived home. "Actually, some advice would be cool. You've got experience breaking up with a Collette girl, could use some tips…"

Tim chuckled. "Nah, Tyra broke up with me, not that I didn´t deserve it though."

"Yeah, I remember that, no offense… I just want to do it right for Min, but I think she's gonna get hurt in the process no matter what I do," Billy said resting his head on the back of the couch.

"I hear you, man. And don't worry, I'll be there for María. I hope Lyla'll understand." There was no point in asking Billy again to be there for María after what he had just admitted. He had enough on his plate already. Tim would have to do it himself, whether Lyla liked it or not.

"I'm sure she will. Seems pretty on board now, doesn't she, little bother?" Billy had always warned Tim about Lyla not taking him seriously, but that seemed to have changed since they were together again.

"She sure does." Things were really going great between them, but Tim knew they only had a few months window before they would take different paths. While Lyla would go to Vanderbilt, he would be going to San Antonio State, and he was not certain if they would be able to overcome living more than 900 miles away most of the time.

And there was a part of him that still thought that he was not good enough for Lyla. It was true that his selfconfidence had really improved during the last months, mostly thanks to María, but the minute Lyla was back in the picture he somehow felt inferior again. There was always something that made him feel that he did not measure up to her expectations. And he could not stop thinking that Vanderbilt would be full with boys that would be just good enough for her, great future sons-in-law for Buddy Garrity. He was doing his best to take his mind off those thoughts.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

The following two weeks were like a nightmare for María. Mac's condition was like a roller coaster those days. One day he seemed to be doing better, his constants clearly showing an improvement, and the next he would be at death's door as a result of unexpected complications. She practically lived in the ICU waiting room, as her mother and she were only allowed to visit him ten minutes every eight hours on the days he was doing well. Fortunately enough, spring break had just started and she did not have to worry about school for a few days.

As her mother would not let her be at their house on her own (Sue stayed at the hospital 24/7), María would spend all nights at the Taylors', who desperatedly tried to make her comfortable and at least provide her with some sense of normalcy on those horrible days. So she would have dinner with them, watch TV with Julie, help Tami with Gracie and the dishes and even play ping pong with Coach Taylor, who enjoyed having a guest who was a good ping pong player. He only wished it was under different circunstances.

Despite the generation gap, a strong friendship was forged between Tami and María on those nights, a special bond they would keep for years to come no matter how far away they would be currently living. María would always remember the kindness all the Taylors showed her during one of the worst periods of her life.

Throughout the day Tim, Matt, Julie, Tyra, Landry and even Bradley would take turns to keep her company at the hospital. Quietly and shyly at first, Bradley most definitely earned himself a soft spot in María´s heart by trying to keep her busy in every way he could within the four walls of the hospital: discussing with her the last book he had read, asking her for advice to improve his swing, commenting on their favorites TV shows and sport teams… She became a priority for all her friends. Miles would call her every night, and even Jack showed up at the hospital one afternoon. María did her best to be friendly, and politely thanked him for coming, but he ended up talking to Sue most of the time he was there.

Among all of them, Tim was usually the only one who could drag her out of the hospital at lunch time, in an attempt to get some food into her. "Come on, McGill, time to eat something. You want to keep those curves of yours, don't you?" he said the first time he took her to have lunch outside the hospital trying to get a smile from her, but the glare María shot at him made him apologise as soon as he said it.

They would usually go to a quiet place and spend a while afterwards in Tim's truck parked in the hospital parking lot. María would then bury her face in Tim's chest and cry, sharing with him all her concerns about Mac. But if it was one of those awful days when Mac's life was on the line, she would just cry on his chest holding him tight. She put on a brave face whenever her mother was around, but as soon as she was with Tim all her emotions would wash over her.

"I'm sorry, Timmy. I wasn't planning on doing this when we broke up, and even less making a habit out of it. Thank you," María mumbled tilting her head back and looking at him. Her father had been in the hospital for two weeks and still she would only let her tears flow with Tim.

"Anytime, Mars," he said smiling.

"No, I mean it. You should be spending time with Lyla instead of me…" She thought that the timing could not be worse. Now that finally he was back with Lyla, he was spending a lot of time trying to comfort her.

"Don't worry about Lyla, she knows…" he whispered in her ear. In fact, Lyla had been really supportive from the minute she knew about Mac's condition, knowing that María was no threat at all to her relationship with Tim and that she was really going through a rough patch.

In the meantime, Billy was trying his best to break up with Mindy in a painless way, which he should have known from the beginning was not possible at all. After long thought, he had come up with the idea of convincing her to postpone the wedding first, claiming that they would do it as soon as he would save the money to afford the kind of wedding she had in mind.

But in the long run what he had thought to be a brilliant idea only caused her more pain. Mindy was really disappointed when he talked about pushing the wedding back, but at the same time she was kind of relieved that he had not broken up with her. She had noticed he had been different for the last few days and although he still blamed it on stress she was not buying it. So when he just mentioned the wedding she was somehow happy. "Maybe he's right and it's just stress," she hopefully thought.

That is why she took it really hard when he unexpectedly broke up with her only ten days later. It caught her by surprise and therefore she was totally unprepared for it. Noticing that she was not taking the news well, Billy decided on the spur of the moment that she deserved the truth, and therefore he told her about his feelings about María, which only added more pain. "I'm sorry Min, you were right. I just didn't want to see it. There's no chance we'd ever be together, she'll go places and I… well, you know who I am… I still can't believe you were willing to spend the rest of your life with me… You deserve better, much better, someone who puts you first, who really loves you…" Mindy was so shocked that she did not tell anyone about their break up for weeks, not even her own family. It was not like her at all to keep secret something like that, but she felt the need to cope with it before it became a matter of common knowledge in a small town like Dillon.

Billy had never felt worse in all his life. He focused on work while desperately tried to cut down on his heavy drinking. The image of Mindy crying while he was breaking up with her would haunt him for years, always reminding him how he was capable of hurting the people that loved him, and during those days after their break up he had to resort to all his willpower not to grab a bottle of booze whenever something brought it to his mind, which was quite often.

Just when school break was over, Mac started showing some signs of improvement. Doctors began to be optimistic and to plan on bringing him back from the medically induced coma he was in since the surgery. Finally María seemed to be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Her mother was again spending her nights at home with her and she started going to the range every day for the first time in weeks while they waited for the doctors' decision.

Mac was brought back from his coma on a bright April afternoon, with Sue and María by his bed. Still on a ventilator, and therefore not able to speak, he squeezed their hands when he was fully awake, and he responded well to the first neurological tests. Further examinations showed a moderate paralysis on the left side of his body, but doctors were confident that he could make a full recovery with rehabilitation. He had a long road ahead of him, but his family was delighted with the news. He was moved from the ICU to a standard room in a week, and his rehabilitation schedule began right away.

Despite the improvement in his clinical condition, María's thoughts were always with her father. She managed to focus again on school and golf, thinking that that was what he wanted her to do, and she decided to leave everything related to the stroke behind her and try to make the best out of the good things she had in her life.

But that included also leaving behind the kisses she had shared with Billy in the chapel on that fateful day. She still could not believe she had kissed Billy, who was engaged, in a hospital chapel while waiting for her father's urgent surgery outcome, no matter how scared had she been at that moment. Billy had been going to the hospital on a daily basis to check on Mac since that day, but María had not seen him since he had brought her mother from Midland airport that night. He would usually go at lunch break and spend some minutes talking to Sue, knowing that María would be eating out with Tim or, later on, at the range. He was avoiding her, and she was doing nothing to reach him. María knew that she would run into him sooner or later, and she knew she would eventually apologise for kissing him, but it all was part of a dreadful day she wanted to forget, and this time she was determined not to think about Billy in a romantic way ever again.

Just when María was settling into this new "normal" life, she was called up by UT for the Preparatory Golf Freshmen Week. They did that every year in an effort to let the new students spend a weekend in campus in order to meet their future teammates and share some time in advance with the golf staff. One of their biggest aims at UT was to make the students feel at home and this weekend was supposed to be the first step to help with that. María had been told about it by Coach Colt when she had been in Austin with her mother in December, but she had completely forgotten about it. She was studying with Tim when the call came in, and he could not help himself from asking in the light of the sudden miserable face she had right after the call.

"Are you ok, Mars?" he worriedly asked. He had been truly worried for her during the time her father's condition was critical. He felt powerless when he realized the only way he could help her was letting her cry on his shoulder, and he had even considered telling her about Billy's feelings for her, thinking that it might help her, but he soon abandoned the idea. Definitely it was not his place to tell her, and he had promised his brother not to do so, the same way he had promised María not to tell Billy about her feelings for him. He was glad to see that lately she was slowly coming back to her usual self, so anything that would interfere with that, like that call, made him worry again.

"Yeah… Let's try this question again…" María answered trying to change the subject.

He took her hand in his and locked eyes with her. "Don't play with me… Who was that?"

María looked down to her notebook, trying to hide her face from his inquiring look, removing her hand from his. "It was nothing, really…"

"Mars…" he mumbled.

When she looked up and held his gaze, her eyes were bright. "Fine, it was UT Austin, reminding me about the preparatory freshmen weekend…." she said in a tired tone.

Tim was shocked to see that she was really upset. He could not understand it. "Oh, cool. When?" he asked trying to get her talking.

She looked down again and started writing. "In two weeks, I think…"

He chuckled. "You think? You'd better be sure when you're going…"

She suddenly raised her head. "I'm not going, Timmy," she said trying to keep calm. One thing was thinking about it, but saying it out loud made it real, and although she had not considered the implications yet, she was well aware of them.

"What?... Mars, you could lose your scholarship for that…" Tim could not believe it.

She nodded. "I know, and I'm not going. Not while my dad's still in hospital." She was again avoiding looking at him.

"Mars, your dad's doing great. Nothing's gonna change if you go to Austin for a weekend."

María did not want to be rude. She looked up at him. "Timmy, no offense, but you're the last person I'd like to discuss this with. I'm not going, and please don´t tell my parents…, I… I'll tell them myself."

"You know what you're doing?" Stammering was not like her at all.

"Yes. Come on, let´s try that question again…"

When Tim left María's that evening, he headed for the car shop instead of going home. He knew Billy would be there working and he needed to talk to him. He knew his brother was still going through a rough patch after his break up with Mindy. Billy was also struggling trying to quit drinking, and Tim was well aware he had focused on work in order to get through it, and he hated to bother him under those circunstances. He was certain María would not listen to him regarding college, but there was every chance that she might listen to Billy. And luckily enough she had not asked him not to tell Billy, just her parents.

"Hey Billy," Tim said as he stepped into the garage.

"Hey little brother. What's up? Weren't you seeing Lyla tonight?" Billy asked. He was trying to sort out all kind of bills and receipts placed on a small desk in the far corner. "Oh, man, I hate paperwork…" he mumbled while he waited for Tim to respond.

"Yeah. Just wanted to tell you María needs you. She's this close to losing her scholarship at UT," he said looking at him intently.

"What?" Billy said. Besides his drinking issues, lately he had also been struggling with his feelings for María, as they ultimately reminded him of how deeply he had hurt Mindy and how he had taken advantage of María at her worst. He had convinced himself that María going to college in a few months would give him distance to bury those feelings once and for all. The last thing he needed was to be in touch with her just before that.

"You heard me." And he told Billy about the preparatory weekend in Austin and how she did not want to go.

"Timmy… I can't… I just can't… Please talk to her. She can't lose that scholarship," Billy said looking at Tim, paperwork totally forgotten for the time being.

"Billy, I'm asking you because I already tried… You ever trust me?" he said hands on his hips.

Billy sighed. "Sorry, Tim, I do trust you. It's just… I can't see her…" he trailed off scratching the back of his neck.

Tim had not expected his brother to be so stubborn about that. "Oh, man, these two are both the same…" "What do you mean you can't see her? It's María, man."

"I'm well aware it's María, Timmy. I can't see her…" Clearly Billy did not want to elaborate.

"Care to tell me what's going on? Because I think that no matter what you feel for her she deserves…"

"I kissed her, okay?" Billy suddenly blurted out when he heard Tim rambling. He looked at his brother for a brief second and then fixed his gaze to the ground.

"What?" Tim asked thinking he had misheard what Billy had just said.

Billy gulped and braced himself for impact. He looked up and told Tim what he had been trying to forget for weeks without any success so far. "I kissed her. In the hospital chapel the day Mac had the stroke."

Tim just looked back at him, a mischievous grin on his face. "Man, you're full of surprises…"

"Yeah, can you believe it? I kissed her while she was crying, all alone in the chapel, waiting on her father's surgery, at her worst. And that's not all. Since then I've taking it like a man. You know, mainly avoiding her and trying to forget it. Also trying to get my life straight again and not to hurt anybody in the process, so, no, I'm sorry, I can't see her now."

"But, why?" Tim asked with a confused look on his face. Unlike his brother, Tim knew María would never be mad at Billy for kissing her, and she needed his help.

"Sometimes you seem a little bit dumb, Timmy. I took advantage of her at her worst. I just kissed her back without thinking…" Billy was starting to think that sharing the whole kiss situation with Tim had been a mistake.

"What do you mean back?" Tim was quick to notice it.

"What?" "Definitely, I made a mistake sharing this with him…" Billy quickly thought.

"Who's dumb here? Just said kiss her back…"

"Yeah, she kissed me first, Tim. She was scared and she kissed me. And when she started to apologise I kissed her back, and believe me, I made it clear that it was not a sibling kind of kiss…"

Tim chuckled. Knowing how they both felt for each other, he could easily assume that it had not been a sibling kind of kiss. "And she responded I guess …"

"Yeah, she did…" Billy answered with dreamy eyes. He had done his best to try and forget what he had felt with that kiss, but just talking about it was making him relive it.

"I don't see the problem then, man… it's not like you forced her or anything…" Tim tried to reassure his brother. "Knowing about the way these two feel and not being able to tell them is gonna get harder," Tim thought to himself. He was trying to play down what Billy was telling him, and he was finding it difficult to do it without letting him know about her feelings.

"Of course not! How can you think that?" Billy said frowning.

Tim raised both his hands. "Sorry, man, it's just that… it's María. She kissed you, you kissed her back… Okay, maybe not the best timing, with his father in surgery and you engaged to Mins…"

"Thanks for the recap, Timmy…" Billy tiredly mumbled.

"But you really gonna let that stop you from helping her?" Tim was now leaning on the desk looking at him anxiously.

Billy shook his head. "I can't see her now. She'll be gone to college in a few months, then it'll all be easier…" he whispered resuming his paperwork.

Tim sighed. "I hate to break this to you, Billy, but she won't go to college if you don't talk to her."

"I can't…" Billy repeated.

"Hey, not long ago you told me to man up for her. I did! Why can't you?" he stormed out, turning around and heading for the door. He had said his piece, he hoped that Billy would listen and eventually act accordingly.

A few days had gone by when Billy finally manned up and decided that he had talk to María no matter what. By then she was looking for the best way to tell her parents that she wanted to stay in Dillon after graduating high school, at least for a year. The truth was she did not know anymore what she really wanted, other than not having to go to Austin for a weekend while her father was still in hospital. She did not have a clue about what she would be doing if she had to forfeit her scholarship, but she intended to tell them that she would reapply to UT the following year, thinking that they would not be too worried if she told them that. Still, she knew it will be a great disappointment for her parents, and she was starting to be afraid that it could even have an adverse effect on Mac's health, just the opposite to what María intended in the first place.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Billy knew María would be at the range until dinner time. Carrying his clubs, he strolled down the main hall to the putting area, greeting the staff and some players he had not seen since he had stopped golfing on a regular basis. When he placed his bag on the floor he spotted her on the farther lane, hitting series of five balls. All her shots were accurate, balls flying high in the air, much longer than the average distance for an adult. He then noticed that she had a seamless swing. "No wonder she's pro material," he proudly thought. As strange as it may seem as they had spent a lot of time golfing together while she was growing up, he had not seen her on the course or training at the range for a very long time, and he then realized that all the praises he had heard about her game were falling short compared to what he was witnessing now.

He started putting balls while he kept an eye on her, trying to focus and not to get distracted by the way the soft spring breeze would play with her training skirt. He did not want to interrupt her practice, yet the more he was waiting for her to finish her training, the more anxious he was becoming. He knew exactly what he wanted to tell her, but for the first time in his life he did not know how to address her, and, even worse, he feared her reaction.

As he noticed her gathering all her clubs and her stuff, and walking to the putting green with her golf bag on her shoulder, he got terrible butterflies and the urge to leave without talking to her. And he would have done so had it not been for the fact that she saw him as soon as she approached the putting green. Her first reaction was clear, stopping on her tracks and taking off her sunglasses as to make sure that it was him indeed. Billy froze and quickly smiled when she waived at him with her right hand, resuming her pace.

He was the last person she expected to see at the putting green, and her heart nearly stopped when he noticed him. Try as she might, she could not but fail to note that he had been there for her on the worst day of her life and that she had been avoiding him since then because she had let her feelings take over. "Definitely not fair," she thought while trying to fight the sense of guilt that was currently rushing through her mind once more.

She left her bag on the ground and stepped in to hug him. "Hi Billy, how are you?" Her gesture totally caught him by surprise and by the time he closed his arms around her back she was already leaning backwards. She stopped when she felt him hug her back, and leant in again letting her head linger on his chest for a few seconds. "Hey, M. I'm fine, how are you holding up? You looked great out there, I mean, your game…" he clumsily said while she stepped back and locked eyes with him.

"Well, thank you. I'm glad to see you here, Billy. I've been wanting to thank you for what you did the day my dad had the stroke…" He raised his hand trying to stop her but she went on.

"No, let me finish, please?" "How could I say no to her?" he thought. "Okay…"

"Thank you for being there and helping us as you did. I'll be forever grateful," she quietly said holding his gaze.

"Anytime, M, you know that."

"Yeah, I know, and that's exactly why I also want to apologise, Billy. I should've never kissed you, that was completely out of line. I was scared and I…" she managed to whisper, and luckily for her, as she found it difficult to lie about her true feelings, he interrupted her.

"No, it's okay, M. I want to apologise, too, I should've never kissed you back. I'm sorry." She had just confessed him that her kiss came from fear. "What did you expect, dude?" he thought to himself. "There's no way she's feelings for you. Get a grip already." The right thing was to forget about it, just like he had been trying to do for the last weeks.

"Let's pretend it never happened then, shall we?" she hopefully asked. She did not know how she felt about the fact that he was apologising for kissing her back. "Of course he's apologising, he never meant it," and she tried to push that thought to the back of her mind as it hurt too much.

"Fine by me," he quickly replied. At least it seemed too quickly for her.

"And thank you for being there for my dad, too. I know you've been visiting him almost every day from the beginning. It means a lot to him, and to me." She stressed the last part, letting him know how she felt, but he did not get the clue.

"You're welcome, M. You know he's been my coach and much more that that, the closest to a father figure I ever had." It was true. Mac had been to him very much like Coach Taylor to his brother Tim. "Only God knows where we'd be had they not been in our lives", Billy often thought.

"I know. As I said, thank you. I have to get going…" she said turning around to grab her bag. She had already thanked him and apologised and did not trust herself to do something stupid, like kissing him again, this time in the middle of the putting green in broad daylight.

"Wait, M, please, I have to talk to you. Just five minutes, okay?" he said.

"What on earth does he want to talk about now?" María just wanted to leave the range, hop in her parents' car and try to steady the pace of her heartbeat.

"Sure… You mind if we go to the parking lot and talk there?" People were starting to notice them, looking curiously, and she thought that maybe the parking lot could be a little more private.

"Yeah," Billy said while he took his clubs and started walking by her side to the main entrance. Once they had made their way out they headed for her car and he cleared his throat. "It's just, I know about the freshmen weekend in Austin, that you don't want to go…"

She was opening the trunk of the car and turned around when she heard him. "Timmy told you?"

"Yeah, he's worried sick about you, and so am I, frankly..." he said while he took her golf bag and placed it in the trunk.

"Thanks… Billy, I'm not going while my dad is in hospital…" she began to say, rummaging for her keys in all the pockets of her bag. She was so nervous that she could not remember where she had left them after opening her car.

"M, your dad is fine. He's doing a speedy recovery and… Look at me while I talk to you, please?" he asked.

"Sorry, Billy, I'm looking for my keys, I don't know where…" she mumbled looking at him. "Here," he said handing them over to her. She had given them to him without thinking. "Thank you…" she whispered looking down, trying to hide a slow blush creeping up her cheeks. "How can I be so distracted? And why did I give him my keys? Like he would drive me home or something…" She just wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible.

"M, please, he'll be home before you notice. You just can't risk your scholarship…"

She was just not in the mood for this. She had thanked him and apologised but that was all she could do so far. The last thing she needed was a lecture from him.

"I just can't what, Billy? If I recall correctly, you stayed home to take care of your little brother…" she snapped back locking eyes with him again.

There was something different in her gaze this time, and Billy quickly noticed it. Was it anger? Why? "That's not fair, M. That was different and you know it. Timmy had no one after my father left. Your dad has your mother and all the hospital…, plus it's just a weekend…"

She could not believe what she had just said. Being so close to him was making her lose control. "Billy, please, I'm not going, leave it…"

His gaze was fixed on her and she could nearly hear his breathing. "So that's your plan? Give up everything? Plain and simple… awesome really."

María shook her head, stepping backwards and leaning on the bumper of the car. She tried to calm down. "Billy, I don't know what my plan is, okay? In fact, I've no idea, I just don't want to leave my dad in hospital while I go away…"

"M, just a weekend. You're risking throwing away your whole life. Your parents have been working hard to try and put you here and you just don't care? I just I don't know what you're thinking sometimes. God, I'll drag you there myself if I have to…"

María placed her hand on his forearm trying to calm him. "Billy, I already made the call, I'm not going. Please stop…"

But he was not going to let it be. "You told your parents, M? Did you? What they think about that?" He knew her well, and disappointing her parents was one of her worst fears. María dropped her hand from his arm and looked down.

"I haven't told them yet…" she managed to whisper, still looking to the ground. She could feel her eyes watering up and was doing her best to hold back her tears.

Then he knew he had hit the nail on the head. He felt bad when he noticed her teared up eyes, but he was certain he had to insist. "Listen to me, M. I'm not gonna sit down watching how you throw away everything. God, a full golf scholarship at UT Austin, are you insane? I'm telling them." He placed his hands on his hips waiting for her reaction.

"What? No, you can't Billy…" she said trying to reach for his arm.

"I can…" he said pulling his arm away. He hated to be so hard on her, but it was the only way he could bring her to her senses.

She gulped and reached for his arm again. "Billy, please, don't… Please, it was my fault, I just can't…." She started to cry silently and without a second thought he pulled her into a hug, gently holding her, one of his arms around her waist and the other one caressing the back of her neck, like he used to do when she had had a bad day at school growing up.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay, what are you talking about?" he softly asked while she hid her face on his chest. He could not believe that he was hugging her once more after all his arduous efforts to keep her at a safe distance. In an effort to feel better about that fact, a quick thought crossed his mind, "At least now I'm not engaged to someone else."

And then she told him what had been worrying her since the day of the stroke and had kept to herself. "It was my fault, Billy. I should've seen the signs. Apparently strokes usually announce themselves, I was there with him and I didn't notice anything unusual…"

He tilted his head back to look at her. "M, what are you trying to say?"

She closed her eyes trying to stop her tears. She opened them again and started talking. "I should've been paying more attention to him. He'd been tired lately, and worried about all those redistricting rumors. I should've seen it coming but I was too distracted…" She was certain that she would have noticed that something was wrong with his father had she not been completely distracted feeling miserable and struggling with her feelings for Billy. That thought had been haunting her since that day, and she had not found the strength to share it with anyone, not even her mother.

Billy could not believe what she was telling him. He cupped her face and wiped her tears off with his thumbs. While he was doing so, he could not help but remember that he had done the very same thing that day in the chapel just before she kissed him. He would give anything to kiss her again, but this was neither the time nor the place to relive that moment. And he had been trying hard not to think about that moment, so doing it again was just out of the question, no matter how much he would like to do it. He would have to comfort her in some other way. Fortunately he was sober and able to resort to words. "Hey, M, listen to me, listen carefully to me. Your mom is a certified nurse and she didn't notice anything strange the day before. Otherwise she would've never gone to Dallas. Right? There's no way you could've noticed if he did not complain about anything. Please let it go, M, don't put that burden on you…"

"Billy…", she quietly said while placing her hands on his, still cupping her face.

"Please, M…" he repeated.

She sighed. He actually had a point, a strong point. Her mother had not seen it coming, and she was a nurse with many years of experience. María had been too worried to put all that into perspective. "Okay…"

"Okay, meaning…" he asked slightly bending his knees to be on her eye level, his hands still on her cheeks.

"Okay, I'll go…" she whispered holding his gaze.

"Promise? And I mean it, I'll drive you if you want me to…" he said withdrawing his hands from her face and stepping back. She missed his contact right away, and rubbed her arms absentmindedly.

María would have loved to go to Austin with him. A nearly five hour drive there, time to visit the city when not in the campus, plus the ride back to Dillon. The two of them alone, away from home. It was really tempting, but she had promised herself not to think about him in a romantic way again. And she was determined to achieve it, no matter how hard it could be. "And he's engaged, I'm sure Mindy wouldn't like that," she thought. At that moment she did not know that Billy and Mindy had broken up. Had she known, probably she would have taken up his offer to drive her to UT despite her determination to forget about him, as she could not think of anyone better than him to be with her at a golf related event.

She smiled. "Promise, I'll fly, it'll be faster."

"Okay," he said trying not to sound disappointed. "How did I go from trying to forget about her to offering to drive her to Austin for a weekend, within 5 minutes?"

"Thank you, Billy. I'm sorry I really have to go, my mom must be waiting for the car. It was great seeing you, and thank you for everything. See you around?" She could still feel the soft touch of his hand on her neck, she desperately needed to calm down and there was no way she could do it having his body so close to hers. "Yeah, see you around, M."

As she hopped in the car and waved at him, María made a quick mental note to keep herself as far as possible from Billy until she went to college in a few months' time. She was struggling trying to forget him, and every time she saw him again she felt that she was falling back. She was even making a habit out of crying on his chest and that had to stop. For everybody's sake.

Meanwhile, Billy leant on his truck waiting for his hands to stop shaking. He had been so focused on holding back while he was with her that now he could feel all the tension wearing off. "Mission accomplished," he thought trying to calm down. "And she'll be in college soon. Time to move on once and for all." And he also made a quick mental note to keep himself as far as possible from María until September. "Whatever it takes."


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Finally, María did go to UT Austin for the freshmen weekend and it really exceeded all expectations. New people, great golf facilities, she could see a whole new life ahead of her. Always reluctant to leave home again, she never thought that she would feel this way about college, but by the time the weekend was over she was looking forward to joining all of them in late August. Besides the most terrifying experience in her whole life, her father's stroke was the icing on the cake for a year that she had eagerly awaited during her last months in Florida and had fallen short of expectations.

Sure she had excelled at school, she had kept up her outstanding golf level and she had really been great at soccer throughout the year, but some events seemed to somehow tarnish all her achievements. The fact that most of her friends were leading a complete different life from the one she had shared with them until she went to Florida had undoubtedly shaped her experiences in her senior year, and some initially unforeseen events, like her breakup with Jack and her wrist injury, had largely affected her.

But on the bright sight, she had had the chance to spend much needed family time with her parents, Tim was back in her life and, the most important thing, she had been home to help her dad when he had suffered the stroke, also being able to be with him during his recovery. She did not want to think about the possibility of learning about his condition being more than a thousand miles away.

After her weekend in Austin she was surprised to find the last weeks of school boring. No more homework, no more assignments, and no more tutoring. Despite not studying together anymore, Tim tried to keep a close eye on María as much as his boyfriend duties with Lyla allowed him. But as the last weeks of school went by, he was drawn deeper into their relationship and suddenly María felt that she was alone again, like back in September when school was starting and she was going through a rough patch with Jack. With Julie and Tyra once again working extra shifts at Applebee's and focused on Matt and Landy on their spare time, María found herself longing for college once her father was finally released from hospital. He still needed a cane to walk, but he was doing really well and was hoping to resume work soon.

As the valedictorian of her graduating class, she worked hard on her speech. She welcomed the distraction, but as she started writing it she truly missed the opportunity to share it with some of her friends in order to give a speech that would represent most of her peers' dreams, anxieties and viewpoints. Plus she had only been part of Dillon High one year, and she was afraid that she could be overlooking some important points of their high school years.

And that is how Bradley came to her mind one day she was finding it especially difficult to set the right tone to the speech, after checking with Tami first. She remembered how during the days her father's condition was critical he had been trying to keep her busy in every way he could within the four walls of the hospital, and how good he was at discussing all kind of topics. Definitely, he went far beyond the tough football player he seemed to be at first sight.

María´s call took Bradley totally by surprise. He had grown really fond of her those days at the hospital, if he was not fond enough before, but he had decided to back off once her father was doing better as he knew he did not stand a chance with her. She had been crystal clear about it twice before and now that they were somehow friends he did not want to mess that up.

"Hey, María. How're you? Your dad?" He asked as he saw the caller ID on his phone screen.

"Good, he's doing great actually, thank you. Sorry to bother you Bradley…"

"Not at all…" He was really glad she had called. Actually he could not figure out the reason she had to call, but it was welcomed anyway.

"I was just wondering. Would you like to cowrite the valedictorian speech with me? I've only been in Dillon High for a year and I think it would be…" she hesitantly asked.

"Yes…" he did not even let her finish her line.

"Sorry?" She could not believe he was saying yes without further explanation.

"I said yes. I'd like that very much…" He was ecstatic that María was asking him to do that. Of course it was not a date, or anything like that, but he could do with writing the valedictorian speech instead, as it would mean several hours in her company. Much better that than nothing.

"Bradley, thank you. And of course everybody'll know it's a cowritten speech…"

"I don't care about that, María…" Cowriting the valedictorian speech of his graduating class, and with María no less? He felt he had won the lottery and he did not need anyone to know about it.

"I know, but I do. And if we do this together I'd like everybody to know…" she trailed off.

And that's how Bradley became an important presence in María's life unexpectedly. It started off cowriting the speech, but somewhere down the line they ended up spending time together on a regular basis. Which ended up being a good thing as both of them would be going to UT Austin and sharing most of their classes.

Graduation day came soon and María sat there in her blue cap and gown. While she watched everybody take their seats waiting for the ceremony to begin, she glanced around her. They were all graduating and with so, headed for a new life in the next few weeks. She knew for a fact that their lives would undoubtedly change. Matt was going to the Art Institute of Chicago, Tyra and Bradley had just been accepted off the wait list to UT Austin, and Tim was heading for San Antonio State. Julie and Landry were a year behind them, and she wondered how they would spend their last year of high school when most of their friends would be gone to college and all those redistricting rumors.

She spotted her parents in the crowd, and silently nodded and smiled. Her father was doing very well, great indeed. If María had been told when he was critical at the hospital that he would be attending her graduation after a full recovery she would have never believed it. He could now walk without his cane, his slight paralysis almost totally gone, and he had started working again just a few days before. She and Sue were afraid that the increasing redistricting rumors would affect him, but Buddy Garrity had assured him that his job was not on the line at all. Redistricting or not, he would be the offensive coordinator for the Dillon Panthers, he had told him. But Mac was worried about Coach Taylor, as he feared that it was Eric's job the one on the line, and both Sue and María were doing their best to convince him to take things easy.

María remembered then when Eric Taylor was hired three years ago. She was in Florida then, but she knew that initially there had been some tension between her dad and Eric, as Mac had assumed the head coaching position would be his. However, a friendship did grow between the two of them, encouraged by the fact that their wives got along really well and also became friends.

She also spotted Billy in the crowd, sitting just behind her parents, and currently fixing his gaze on her. They had not seen each other since the day Billy had convinced her to go to Austin for the freshmen weekend and María had succeeded in not thinking about him in a romantic way ever since. Well, she had not thought about him at all, but she could not help but feel her heart skip a beat seeing him there. He looked tired, and she wondered if his business was finally taking off. She noticed that Mindy was seated just on the other part of the audience, with her mother, and she found it odd that they would not be sitting together as both their siblings were graduating and they did not have extended families. As incredible as it may seem in a small town like Dillon, nobody had told María about their break up, not even Tim, whom she had barely seen since that weekend in Austin, and seeing Billy just reminded her that she had to come up with an excuse not no attend his wedding. "I must be doing it right if I've even forgotten about his wedding," she thought relieved.

She was lost in her thoughts when it was her turn to deliver the speech. As she approached the podium, she cleared her throat. She looked up and saw all the audience looking at her expectantly. She smiled to the public, focusing her gaze on her parents for a brief moment, took a deep breath and got started.

"Greetings Class of 2008. Incredible as it may seem, we did it, we are graduating. In a short while we will all be walking across this stage and handed our diplomas. It only seems like yesterday, but it has been nearly four years from when we finished our first day of high school in August 2004 to today. I have to say that as many of you already know, I was not here then, but I also started high school then a thousand of miles away, and I'm sure we all shared the same feeling back then. As a new addition to Dillon High for senior year, I did not want this speech to lack any milestone regarding high school life in Dillon, so I asked a dear friend of mine to work on the speech with me. When we began preparing it, we realized our high school experiences were very similar regardless of the actual school we attended. By the way, this speech is his as much as mine although he does not want me to say it.

Returning to the issue in hand, I think I speak for most of us when I say that all those days went by much faster than we ever imagined. By the time we realized it, we were applying to and getting accepted to college. All those nights cramming for the exam the following day, all the books we read and the papers we wrote, all of the friendships and relationships we began, ended, and mended, and all of the experiences we have had throughout high school have led up to this day.

What will we miss from today on? Undoubtedly, our people. As you can guess, we couldn't have made it to this moment on our own. If you haven't thanked your family, friends, and teachers yet you certainly should. None of us could have gotten here without them. In the two schools I've attended high school I firmly believe I was fortunate enough to have the best teachers at each school, learning a lot more from all of those people than just lessons. But of course, we'll all miss our friends the most. After all, we changed each other's lives.

…

In the time we've been growing up, the world has really changed. We are old enough to remember computers when they still were heavier than a big suitcase, and Wifi and cell phones were a luxury just for business people. Now most of us have a laptop and a cell phone, and even the lucky ones have a Blackberry that allows them to access the Internet and send and receive emails. Just a sign of the quick way the world around us is changing.

In that regard, when I think about the Class of 2008 I think about social activists, entrepreneurs, all kind of artists, scientists, teachers, leaders, and so much more. And of course, pro football and soccer players. I think about people that can leave this world better than we found it.

Before I end this speech, I'd like to wish each and every one of you success in whatever endeavors you choose to pursue. I know that we are going to do great things. So let's make the best of it, and let's start all over again."

The speech earned her a long-lasting applause. After that, everything was kind of blurred. Diplomas were given, caps thrown up in the air, tons of photographs taken, people congratulating each other… In the middle of all this blur María felt someone taking her hand and leading her to one of the corners of the stage where it was less crowded. She did not need to turn around to know who it was. She would identify the soft touch of that hand anywhere.

"Hey, Timmy," she said facing him.

"Hey, Mars. Great speech, but I'm a bit jealous you didn't ask me to write it with you…" he joked letting her hand go.

"Yeah, well I figured you'd be busy…" she replied chuckling.

"Listen, just a quick word. Thank you, I would've never done it without you," he said locking eyes with her.

She smiled. "You're welcome, but it was you who did it…"

He shook his head. "Nah, look how well I was doing before you came back… so thank you very much. Any plans for the summer?" he suddenly asked. For a brief moment it seemed to María that he wanted to led the conversation to a certain point, and she wondered what would that be.

"No, not really. I guess swimming, range, course, you know…, the usual for the summer." She sighed. He looked gorgeous in his blue gown. Not for the first time since they had broken up, she asked herself if they could have made it work regardless of the feelings they both harbored for someone else, should they had not split up so soon. "I miss you, Timmy. I'm really sorry about the way things went between us, I do miss you."

She had said it without thinking, and his response shocked her. "I miss you too, Mars."

She gulped and tried to change the topic. "I hope you're on your best boyfriend behavior with Lyla…"

He smiled and nodded. "I am. We're doing great."

"I´m happy to hear that." She was truly happy for him.

"What about you? #55?" As many of the people around them, he had also noticed she had been spending a lot of time with Bradley lately. "I should've guessed he would ask." "Bradley? No, you know there's nothing there…" she said trying to make herself heard over the noisy crowd.

His next question took her by surprise. "You talked to Billy lately?"

"Why is he asking about that?" She looked to the ground for a second, and then held his gaze. Her face was now sad and he regretted bringing Billy up. Clearly she was not over him at all. "#55 doesn't stand a chance," he thought, and he felt sorry for him. He could see that the way Bradley looked at María was the exact way he looked at Lyla.

She cleared her throat. "No, and I prefer it that way. Seeing him doesn't help… " "I usually end up crying on his chest and definitely that does not help," she thought trying to remember why she was doing her best to avoid Billy. She had even hidden Billy's State ring and hoodie in the farther end of one of her drawers, as she felt a pang in her heart any time she would come across them. She knew she should return those to him, but that was not compatible with avoiding him, so for the time being they would remain in the drawer, along with the postcards Billy sent her while she was in Florida and the photograph of Billy, Tim and herself taken on the day she had learnt to swim, that had been sitting on her desk since she could remember. Now it had been replaced by one taken on her fourteenth birthday, showing Tim helping her blow the candles of the cake, both surrounded by Miles, Alan and Jack."I can't believe I've reached a point where I'd rather see Jack than Billy on my desk," she thought trying to hold back her tears when she changed the photo.

"Well, you should talk to him, at least before going to UT. He'd be disappointed if you don't say goodbye…" he trailed off trying to give María a subtle hint. Being loyal to both Billy and María regarding their feelings was sometimes difficult. Knowing what they felt for each other and not being able to tell them was frustrating to say the least. But it was not his place to tell and he was certain they would find their way together if they were meant to be. But he thought that their chances were slimmer every day with María going to college soon. He could not understand why Billy had done nothing at all in that regard since he had broken up with Mindy. He was single again, Mac had recovered from the stroke and María was not seeing anybody either. To Tim their timing was perfect. He could not see that Billy never imagined that María would reciprocate his feelings, as Billy just saw himself as a hot-headed guy who couldn't keep a job for more than three months and had nothing to offer her. Never in a million years could Billy have thought that María was deeply in love with him. And Tim had promised María he would not tell him, so they seemed to be at a dead end.

His comment surprised her. "Okay… But why would he…" But she could not finish her question as Lyla came beside Tim.

"Tim… Oh, hey María, sorry. Tim, my dad is waiting for us…" Lyla shyly said, wondering what they would be talking about and flashing her best smile to both of them.

"Yeah, I'll be right there…" Tim growled. "Maybe it's better this way, I shouldn't be playing matchmaking," he thought.

"No, no, it's okay." María softly said. "I have to go, too. See you around, guys," she said before turning around to look for her parents.

And that was it. School was finally over and with that a bittersweet year for María ended. She was well aware that it was much more than just a school year. As she had mention in her speech, an entire new life was ahead of her, but she still had two months to enjoy just being home. She was under the impression that she would miss home once in UT and she was determined to make the most of her time in Dillon before heading for college.

Redistricting had finally happened at the end of the school year. East Dillon High School would be reopening at the end of the summer and Eric Taylor had been offered the position of head coach to start a new football program there, as Wade Aikmen would replace him as head coach for the Panthers. Mac was still the offensive coordinator for them, but was not happy at all with the new situation. He felt that Eric had not been treated fairly by the School Board and the boosters and he was certain Aikmen was not the right choice for the job.

As María had told Tim on their graduation day, she did not have any special plans for the summer beyond spending as much time as possible with her parents. She considered looking for a job, but Mac and Sue talked her out of it arguing that she had had a crazy schedule throughout the year and she should get a break before college, spending her spare time on things she really enjoyed.

Miles and Alan both called her to let her know that they would not be coming to Dillon during the summer, as they would be both joining an internship program in Houston. María was very happy for them as it was a great opportunity, but she also knew that it meant that she would probably not be seeing them until Thanksgiving, if she could make it home then. "Just another sign of change in our lives," she sadly thought. Once more, the barbeque she had been planning with all "The great five", like old times, was put on hold. Although she had conflicting emotions about that gathering, as Jack would be there, she was really looking forward to it, and postponing it only enhanced her sense of uncertainty about the following months.

So with no school and no soccer practice she found she had plenty of time for herself again. She started going to the community pool early in the morning on a daily basis, as soon as they opened at 8 a.m. The pool was usually crowded during the day, as almost all Dillon tried to cool off the summer heat there, but very few people would go in the early mornings. She was a very good swimmer and it was the only time she could swim there without worrying about avoiding playing kids and teenagers and all sorts of floating objects.

The first day she went there Julie found her by the door five minutes before the opening time. "Good morning, María. What are you doing here so early? Couldn't sleep?"

"Morning, Julie. No…, I just want to swim and this gets packed later… So you're lifeguarding again?"

"Yeah, I am. You're right, that's why I always volunteer for the first shift if it's available. I hope I'll be the same this summer. No one playing or running around during the first hours… plus the heat is quite bearable… and I get the chance to actually swim a bit," she said while unlocking the door to let them in.

"Yes, much better. I have to say that the lake is my favorite spot for swimming, though. But my parents would not let me go alone…" María said.

"Pretty much the same here. So the pool it is. How does it feel to be a high school graduate?" Julie curiously asked.

María chuckled. "Weird, I think. Like waiting for a new chapter to start and trying to make the most of it while you're waiting." It was a weird feeling indeed.

"Do you think it feels that way for everyone?" There was something about the way Julie had voiced the question that made Maria wonder if she was worried about Matt, or even more, about him going to Chicago.

"Don't know, really. Are you worried about Matt?" María could not help but ask.

"Not worried, but I'd like to know how he feels about leaving in a few weeks…" Julie trailed off.

"And you, Julie? How do you feel about that?" It could not be easy, seeing your boyfriend going away to college to the other side of the country, while you still had to finish High School.

Julie deeply sighed. There was something she had been meaning to get off her chest, but she never found the right person. Maybe María was. Her mother thought very highly of her, and she trusted her. "I just I don't know, María. I never thought that Matt would actually move away to college, and most of my friends would be leaving high school at the same time, and I just feel left behind."

"Julie…" María could sense that Julie was having a tough time. And Matt had not left yet.

"And it's really good. I mean, I'm so proud of Matt, and it's stupid to feel this way…" Once she had started talking, she could not stop herself. And María was a good listener.

"Hey, it's not stupid. You love him and he's going away. There's nothing stupid in feeling the way you feel about him. Maybe you should talk to him, tell him how you feel, otherwise he's gonna sense something is off…" María could not believe she was giving Julie relationship advice. "The pot calling the kettle black, it took me weeks to talk to Jack…" María tried to push that thought to the back of her mind. She had bad recollections of that particular time with Jack.

"Yeah… I guess so."

That morning was the first of many ones María and Julie spent together at the pool during that summer. Julie was lucky enough to get the first shift often and they would be swimming and chatting whenever she had the time. As a result of that they became close and one day while they were sitting on the edge of the pool after swimming, Julie asked what was on everybody's mind.

"María, is there anything going on between you and Bradley?"

María sighed. She knew seeing them together would lead to questions from people around them sooner or later. "No, there isn't."

"And you want it to be?" Julie asked again.

"No. In an imaginary world, I think maybe I would, but not here, not now. I know it wouldn't work and we could get hurt. Been there, done that…" She did not want to do that again, to try and forget Billy with someone else. It had not worked out with Tim, and there was no reason to think that it would with Bradley. And the truth was that she was doing okay regarding Billy for the first time since she could remember having feelings for him. Not seeing him or talking about him was slowly making her think that eventually she would be able to be over him. She just needed time and distance, and she hoped that going to college may do the trick.

"Well, you guys are going both to UT. If you're meant to be, you'll have plenty of chances…" Julie trailed off.

"Yes, I guess so…" María said hesitantly. Bradley had not brought that up since he had asked her to be his date for Prom, and she thought that they were both comfortable being friends. At least she was certain she was. But she could not help but think that if he did bring that up again, nothing would be the same from then on. That was the reason she had made no attempt to address that matter since they had started writing the speech together. In fact, she really hoped he would never bring that up again, at least while she still had feelings for Billy.

Something in the way María was talking about Bradley reminded Julie about a certain conversation with Tyra just before school started. "That guy you told us, older than you, do you still think about him?"

"Yeah, I do… No, I don't really anymore… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I still have feelings for him, but I do my best to keep him off my mind, and somehow it's working. At least I'm not sad all the time…." María said.

"That's why you hide at the pool all mornings? Because you know he won't be here?" Julie asked.

María seemed to be deep in thought. Julie immediately regretted asking her, as her expression had changed and her bright and relaxed smile was then gone. Her voice was low when she replied. "I guess you could say that. Bradley asks me almost every day to go to the lake in the late afternoons. I'm sure my parents would let me go with him, and I'd really like that. But I know this guy would likely be there, it's also one of his favorite spots in the summer, and I'm running out of excuses not to go… And I hate not being able to go to swim to the lake when I finally have the chance to, but I don't wanna risk this ataraxia I finally reached… Oh, sorry for the Greek term, Julie, it probably sounded so snob. But it's so descriptive…"

Julie chuckled. "No, it's okay. I like to use those too, although most people look at me like if I came from another planet… So you'd say that you're currently ongoing freedom from distress and worry? That's good, María. How straight have you been to Bradley about this? If you don't mind me asking…" Julie was really curious.

"He knows there's someone, but that's it. I never related him to the lake," she mumbled.

"Maybe you should tell him, Maria."

"Yeah, I probably should…"

And she did. That afternoon when Bradley called her and asked her if she had any plans, she bluntly said. "Bradley, I'd really like to go to the lake with you, but I can't right now."

"Okay…." He slowly said tightening the grip on his phone. He was not planning on asking her to go there again, and it took him by surprise that she brought that up.

"I'm sorry, Bradley, I've been giving you excuses all these days and I think you deserve the truth…" she went on.

"Are you okay, Maria?" The way she was talking about excuses and truth worried him.

"Yes, I am. What I'm trying to tell you is that…"

He interrupted her. "Does this have something to do with this guy you said was on you mind?"

She could not believe he already knew in advance what she wanted to tell him. "Am I so readable?" she whispered barely audible on the phone.

"You are, when it comes to this topic. You automatically become sad, truly sad, so please let's just leave it at that. What'd you say if we go somewhere else? The lake outside Dillon is not the only lake around…"

And from that day on they spent most of their afternoons at a small lake near Larabee. It was a quiet spot just off the main road only known by local people. Bradley's mother happened to be from Larabee and that is how he knew about this place. The small path unexpectedly widened into a multicolored beach with every size of rock, with a flat lake beyond. Looking through the waters of the lake was like peering though perfect glass. It was a perfect spot for swimming, not as crowded as the lake nearby Dillon would be in the summer, and María immediately fell in love with the place.

So between the community pool in the mornings and the lake, the range and the course in the afternoons María's summer went by much faster that she had expected. She also attended her cousin's wedding in early July, and spent ten days at the ranch, only to find out that she was eager to go back to Dillon for the last weeks before college started.

Once back, she resumed her summer rutine, pool, lake, golf and occasional meetings with her friends. Tim started coming to dinner with María and her parents again, on a weekly basis, at Mac´s request, and María was relieved to see him alone in their doorstep every week despite Mac and Sue would always ask him to bring Billy with him. Sometimes he would come early to spend some time with her and during that time he never spoke about Billy and she never asked. It became an unwritten and unspoken rule between them not to mention him. María preferred it that way, because not thinking about him was working, and Tim's reason was related to the fact that he was afraid that he might make a mistake and say something he should not knowing how they both feel. So as incredible as it may seem, María did not know that Billy and Mindy had already been broken up for months.

In the meanwhile, Billy was finally getting hold of his life again. After a few hard months he felt he had done it, or at least, he was close to achieve it. The shop was doing good, great in fact, as a result of the many hours he had been working in it. Although he tended to doubt himself, he was a really good mechanic and all his efforts were finally paying off. He could not believe it when he realized that he could even hire someone part-time to deal with the paperwork if he wanted to.

And he had stopped drinking. Completely. After considering and finally abandoning the idea of joining the local AA group, he asked his brother for help, as he thought he only could do it by himself if he had his support. And that is how for the first time since both Billy and Timmy could remember, no trace of alcohol could be found in the Riggins household. Billy could feel that finally their lives for changing for the better: Tim was going to college and was drinking less than ever since he was fifteen, his business was taking off and he had been sober for months.

There was only one thing that clouded his current life, or it would be better to say someone, and that was María, or preferably, the need to keep himself away from her. She had been part of his life since she could barely hold a golf club and he missed her. He missed sharing things with her, knowing about her life. However incredible it might seem, she had been more present in his life while she had been in Florida than during her senior year in Dillon. And he longed for her in a way he could not understand given his relationship track record. After all, they had just shared two kisses under dire circumstances, but he had never felt anything similar for any of the many girls and women he had been with since High School.

And the fact that everytime he thought about María Mindy came to his mind did not help at all. He still felt terrible about the way things had gone between them, and it had come to his attention that she was not doing great. Tyra herself had stormed into the car shop the day she had found out about the breakup, and when Tim came in from picking up some car parts in Midland a short while after that, he found Tyra yelling at Billy, spilling out everything she thought about him and his behavior, while Billy was just looking down to the ground letting her get it off her chest.

When Tim gently dragged Tyra out of the garage trying to calm her down as she was still turning her anger against his brother, one quick thought crossed Billy's mind. "Thank you, Min, for not telling her about María." He would be forever grateful for that. Knowing Tyra, he preferred not to think about the possible repercussions if Mindy had shared that piece of information with her sister.

Time flew by and suddenly María found herself packing boxes to go to college. She remembered doing that exact same thing before she went to Florida for her freshmen year of High School, but the scenario could not be more different. Back then she was really forward to going to GMI and leaving behind her current life in Dillon did not bother her at all. After all, she was just fourteen at the time. But things had greatly changed since then. She had enjoyed her three years at GMI, but after the first year she found it more difficult to leave home after her school breaks. The hardest time had been the one she had left for her junior year. She missed her parents and her friends in Dillon and she had just started dating Jack that summer, and the perspective of not coming back in a few months really upset her. But she had gone and she had done the most of it.

This time everything seemed to be different, and, in a way, definite. She was leaving home for college, joining one if the best golf programms in the country pursuing her dream of becoming a pro golf player. Unless anything unexpected happened, she would not be living home with her parents ever again on a regular basis. Sure her room will always be there and she would come home on every chance she would have, and it will be home for her forever, but she had to come to terms with the fact that that part of her life would be over once she went to college.

And she did not know if she was ready for that yet. Her desire to come home for her senior High School year had not been a whim. She had actually felt that she needed it as she missed her home more and more every day. It took some time to convince her parents but they finally gave in as they also truly missed her, and that was how she ended up in Dillon for her senior year.

And that long-awaited senior High School year had gone by so fast for her liking... Looking back it was all kind of blurred: her coming back finding that all her friends led totally different lives from the ones she remembered, running into Billy that summer evening at the Alamo Freeze with Miles and Alan, her first dissapointments in Jack, suddenly realizing about her true feelings for Billy, joining the scoccer team and playing a remarkable season, school starting and Timmy being back in her life again, tutoring him no less, her doubts about Jack and their hard break up, her college choices, her parents' constant worries, Tim, State, her wrist injury, the craziness about being with Tim to try and forget Billy... until her father had had the stroke on that fateful day. That put everything else into perspective. She had learnt it the hard way.

While packing she came across Billy's State ring and hoodie, and the photo and postcards she had hidden months before. She took them out of the drawer and scattered them over her bed. Resisting the urge to read the postcards once more, she placed them back in the drawer, but she hesitated when her hand touched the soft fabric of the hoodie. She knew it still smelled like Billy's aftershave as she had not wanted to wash it after Billy gave it to her in the hospital, and she had to resort to all her willpower not to bring it to her face. Knowing that she might regret it later, she carefully placed the hoodie and the photo in her suitcase, and stowed the ring in her jewel case inside the closet. She still could not understand why Billy had wanted her to keep it for him, he cherished that ring.

Tim had left for San Antonio State the previous week. Lyla had already been off to Vanderbilt and he had been miserable since then. They both knew the chances of succeding at the distance relationship thing were slim, but while he was not interested in the life he had ahead of him if he could not share it with Lyla, she was ecstatic about college and she was not hidding it, so their last days together had been awkward to say the least.

He had stopped by María's the day before leaving for San Antonio to say goodbye. He thanked her again for her help during the year and told her something he had not shared with anyone, not even Billy.

"Mars, I don't know if I'm cut off for college. I mean, Billy wants me to go, and Lyla wants me to go but, honestly, you know me well, you think I'd fit well there?" he asked frowning.

"Timmy, you'd fit well wherever you want. I don't doubt for a second you can do it. Cold feet?"

"Nah, it's not that. College was never a goal for me, I never thought about it. And now what I really want to do is stay here, fixing cars with Billy..." Sometimes he wished he could also be drinking beers with him like old times, even occasionally, but he was very proud of his brother and if it that meant that they would not be drinking together again, well, so be it.

María shivered when she heard Billy's name. Much to her dismay, the mere mention of his name still had that effect on her. She tried to focus on the matter at hand. "And football, Timmy? You're forgeting you have the chance to play college football. Not many can say that..."

"Deep inside I knew State was my last game..." Nobydy knew, but he had placed his cleats on the field in Austin right after State. When he had done it, it had been his final goodbye to high school football, but now he liked to think that it had been his final goodbye to playing football.

"As a Panther, Timmy, your last game as a Panther. You should try, I know you love football..." She tried to encourage him.

"I do, but I'm afraid it won't be enough," he said looking down. At last he was taking it off his chest by sharing it with María, but he thought she would be disappointed.

"Okay, at least try?" she hopely asked. She remembered how adamant Billy had been when she did not want to go to the freshmen week in UT, so she could guess how he would deal with Tim eventually dropping off college.

"Will do, no worries" he said hugging her. She was one of the very few people that actually understood him, and he was grateful to have her back in his life. "Good luck at UT. I'm sure you're gonna make us very proud," he whispered in her ear. "I promise I'll be in touch this time, I even have an email address now... "

She chuckled. "I'd really like that. Good luck in San Antonio," she said kissing his cheek and stepping back.

When he was about to turn around to hop in his truck he bluntly asked: "#55 made any move yet?" María had been waiting for that question to arise again and she had her answer well prepared. "What? No, we're just friends..." But Tim's replay shocked her. "He knows that? Cause he doesn't look at you like a friend..."

María gulped. "Is that right?" "He knows, Timmy. Don't wanna make the same mistake again..."

"I'm just saying he's a good guy, Mars, and you two seem happy together. And you're going to the same college. Maybe it could work..." he shyly said slightly leaning on the driver door of his truck.

She could remember Miles saying exactly the same about Tim and her over the phone some months back. "And look how well that ended..." she thought."I can't believe I'm getting relationship advice from you, Timmy..."

He widely smiled. "Nah, it's just... things are much better when you share them, and you deserve to be happy..." he said nervously scratching the back of his neck.

Definitely he was one of the most generous people she knew. She leant in and softly kissed him, briefly brushing her lips on his. She was surprised when he cupped her face and kissed her back. It was a short, gentle kiss. María was completely off-limits for him since he knew the way Billy felt about her, but he could not help himself from letting her know that things could have gone completely different between them if her feelings for Billy had not existed.

She quickly stepped back and cleared her throat. "Thank you, Timmy. But if it didn't work with you, I'm sure it won't work with Bradley. As much as I like him as a friend, he's not you. Now please go before I do something stupid again..." she said blushing.

"It was not stupid, Mars. Take care and write, ok?" he said taking her hand and gently squeezing it before getting in his truck.

A huge and important part of her senior year was gone with him, leaving her overwhelmed with a feeling of loneliness and uncertainty. And it was only the beginning, this was just an advance of what the next hours would be like. "This is going to be hard, saying goodbye to everyone," she sadly thought while she watched Tim's truck take the turn at the end of her street.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

The evening before heading for Austin, María went to the Taylors' to say goodbye. She would never forget how they had opened their home to her while her father was in critical condition those first two weeks in hospital, and how understanding Tami had been when she had turned to her looking for advice. Eric had also been really supportive with her college choice, even helping her make Mac and Sue understand it. She considered them almost like family, and she could not leave for college without seeing them.

Coach Taylor opened the door when she rang the bell. Just in from work, he was wearing a red Lions shirt and cap, and María noticed how strange it was to see him clad in a different color. He had been the Head Coach of the Panthers when she had met him, nearly three years ago, and he had always been in blue, just like her father. "Just another sign of change," she thought to herself, and she wondered how he was dealing with the whole redistricting situation and his new job. Starting a football team from scratch could not be easy when you had led your former team to win State just two years before and you had just made it to the final game again. It then hit María that adults also had to face changes in their lives, often unwanted changes; that it was not only a matter of teenagers and young people, and she felt both relieved and worried at the realization.

"Hi María, come on in," Eric said gesturing her to enter the hall and closing the door behind her.

"Hi Coach, thank you," she said stepping into the house.

"How you doing? Everything packed?" he asked while he led her to the living room, where Tami and Julie were watching tv and Gracie Bell was playing on the floor.

"Well, a bit nervous, I guess. Yeah, everything's ready…" she answered smiling as Tami stood up to greet her.

"Hi María. Thank you so much for coming by. We know you're busy getting everything ready. Would you like something to drink? Coke, soda, water… Here, take a seat."

"Water'd be great Tami, thank you", she replied turning to gently touch Gracie's arm, "Hey there Gracie, how are you?" she whispered and sat down on the couch beside Julie, who put her arm on María's shoulders. "Just a few hours left, how does that feel, uh?"

María chuckled surprised by Julie's unsual display of affection. "Weird, like everything lately." Matt had decided not to go to Chicago at the last minute to take care of his grandmother and Julie was over the moon. That joy transpired in everything she did or said, and María thought that she would love to be in her shoes, in a steady relationship with a loving boyfriend like Matt, instead of wasting her energy in trying to forget the way she felt about Billy.

"So I hear that you're going to Austin with Cole…" Eric trailed off from his chair, bringing María back to reality, while Tami handed her a bottle of water. "No, Coach Taylor too?" Despite not working with Coach Taylor anymore, María's father and he were still close and Mac had told him how Bradley Cole had been a constant presence in her life since graduation, and how they would be driving together to Austin.

"Yes, Coach, we'll be living in the same dorms and it seemed like a good idea to drive over there a few days earlier and get settled in at the same time," she said wondering why she felt the need to explain the nature of their relationship to everybody. At least her parents had not asked her, but after Eric's words she could guess that they were at least curious.

Fortunatelly for her, Tami came to her rescue. "And Tyra? She's not going with y'all?"

María shook her head. "No, we offered but she said she'll go the day before classes start. She'll be staying off campus, and I think she didn't have the chance to have her study earlier."

"So you're stuck with Cole then…" Eric stated while he shifted in his chair, determined not to change the topic. He thought very highly of María and he could totally understand the pull she had on most of his former players. But he had been eighteen once, and he knew what most teenage boys thought about girls, and this here was Mac's daughter. He wanted to know how she really felt about Bradley being around in college.

María chuckled. She could sense a fatherly concern over his words, and a feeling of deep gratitude washed over her. No doubt most of his players worshiped him. The East Dillon Lions were very lucky to have him as their Coach."You say it like we're glued by the hip or something without wanting to be… We're friends, Coach, good friends, but nothing more. There's nothing to be worried about."

Eric touched his hair and nodded. "All right. Sorry kiddo, just watching out for you. He's a good boy, María, I trust him, but don't you forget that he's a teenager. You know what I mean?" he said looking at her intently while Tami and Julie amusedly listened to them.

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you Coach, I trust him too. Otherwise I wouldn't be riding to Austin with him."

They talked for a while and even played a round of ping-pong until María said it was getting late and her parents were expecting her for dinner. When Tami walked her to the door, she took her arm and quietly spoke to her. "Well, if you need someone to talk about anything, you know I'm here for you, don't you? I'll be just a phone call and and email away, María," she said hugging her.

"I know, Tami, thanks so much. You know that I may take you up on that offer. But so far I'm good, really. Just nervous about college, I guess. Thank you for everything. I don't know what I would've done without you," she said managing to hug Tami back as she felt a lump in her throat.

"Anytime, María. Enjoy college. And remember: you'll go places," Tami encouranged María letting her go reluctantly. She felt her eyes water as she waved María goodbye, and she asked herself if she would have been able to avoid tears if it was Julie the one actually leaving for college. That was just around the corner, in a year. "I better start working on that, and I better start telling Eric to work on that, too. At least we'll have sixteen more years to get ready for Gracie…"

While María was driving home, Tami's words were echoing in her mind. "I'll be just a phone call and and email away", and she could not help but think that she would be just on her own from then on. Of course her parents, the Taylors and her friends would be just a phone call away, but she would be living in a new environment hundreds of miles away from them and she would have to learn to make her way through life with them in the distance.

Finally the deadred day came. Early in the morning Bradley parked his SUV in her driveway ready to load her suitcases, golf bags and all her boxes. As María had told the Taylors the day before, since they would be living in the same building in campus, they had agreed that it would be a good idea to drive there together and get settled at the same time. They had not admitted it to each other yet, but they were both a little bit anxious about the first days at college and the possibility of facing it together seemed to help to keep their nerves at check.

Mac and Sue had not mentioned anything to María, but they had been deeply disappointed when she had told them that Bradley would be driving her to Austin, as they had expected to take her there themselves, as a family thing. They had been focused on Mac's health for months, but now that he had recoved they were worried about María again. The fact that she had spent most of her summer with Bradley and that the both of them would be going to college together had taken them by surprise, as Bradley seemed to have appeared in María's life out of nowhere. Of course they had been classmates growing up, but as far as her parents knew they had never been close.

Mac had tried to reassure Sue by telling her that Bradley had been in his team for four years and he knew he was a good guy. "María wouldn't be spending so much time with him if he wasn't, Sue. I think our daughter's grown up now and she can choose her friends wisely. I know it's hard but we did our job raising her and now it's time to let her fly solo. Just think that in a few weeks she'll have new friends we won't know anything about. We do know Cole, and at least it's a relief for me to know that he'll be there with her. Which reminds me, don't you think it may be a good idea if you have that talk with her again? Before she leaves? Just in case…" Sue laughed at his words. "No, Mac, as you say, she's a grown up girl now. And I trust her about that, too. I don't think she needs to hear that talk again."

Once the SUV was loaded there was no further excuse to get on the road. Maria had pictured this very moment in her mind thousands of times in the last few days. She had done it in an attempt to be prepared in advance for the emotions that undoubtedly would arise then, and she had thought that she would have them under control. But she had been wrong, totally wrong. The moment Bradley said "I think we have everything, maybe we should get going," and she turned to look at Mac and Sue, standing by his car, Mac's arm over Sue's shoulders, both smiling at her, she found it difficult not to cry. All her life passed through her mind then and all kind of memories with her parents came back to life in a split second. She could sense she was not the only one as her parents had both bright eyes. At that point she knew she would not be able to leave without tears and she decided to speed up the whole process.

"You're right, Bradley, we should get going, otherwise we're gonna hit heavy traffic," she managed to say while she hugged both her parents, both too moved to say anything. "I promise I'll call as soon as we arrive in campus. Bye!" And with that she hopped in Bradley's SUV, buckled herself in, and waved as he put the car in reverse and exited her driveway driving onto the street. He had managed to grab Maria's left hand for support while maneuvering the car as soon as she had fastened her seatbelt, and she was keeping a tight hold of it while she was still waving to her parents.

Once they left her street, he pulled over to the curb and let her hand go, looking at her.

"You okay?" Concern was evident in his blue eyes.

"Yes, I am. Sorry, I know I should be used to this by now, it's not the first time I leave home for school, and I thought I was prepared for that, but clearly I wasn't..." she whispered.

"If it's any consolation, I also had a terrible time leaving home. I had not cried in front of my folks since I was ten or eleven... It's hard, isn't it?" he asked trying to comfort her.

"Sure it is. But let's just think that Thanksgiving's just around the corner, and hopefully we'll be here again. Come on, let's go, I'm fine," she said trying to smile. She had just begun to move onto the rest of her life by leaving home, and she was already nostalgic for the safety net that home had always been.

Her heart nearly stopped when she heard Bradley's next words. "Okay, just a last quick stop. Ten minutes top, Riggins' Rigs..."

She looked at him in disbelief while he was driving through the streets of Dillon. "Riggings' Rigs... Are we stopping there?" she softly asked.

He kept his gaze on the road so he missed her scared face. Had he seen it, probably he would have pulled to the curb again.

"Yeah, ten minutes tops. Riggs said the new set of wipers would arrive early in the morning. I just noticed a few days ago these ones seem to be quite old and I don't trust them for the next months..." he trailed off, completely oblivious to the strong and conflicting emotions she was currently feeling.

She nodded. So there was no chance that she could at least stay in the car and avoid Billy. He had to change the wipers. Great. She had succeeded to avoid him for the last three months only to be the last person from Dillon she would be seeing just before heading for Austin.

"Okay..." she managed to mumble trying to sound as normal as possible.

When they arrived at the shop a few cars and trucks could be seen inside and Bradley parked by the main entrance. Apparently business was growing. They exited his SUV and started walking towards the small office Billy had recently built in one of the corners of the garage.

It was a small but tidy room with glass walls overlooking the shop and María inmediately saw him sitting behind the desk typing on a silver laptop. He had not noticed them yet and she took her time to stare at him. She knew she would not have that chance again any time soon. She was glad to see that he looked much better than the last times she had seen him at the range and on graduation day. He had put on some weight and the dark spots under his eyes and his tired face could no longer be found. He looked good, really good. "He must be really happy with Mindy. He looks better than ever," she thought while he looked up from the screen and noticed them coming his way.

He froze and gulped when he saw María. He thought that she would be gone to college by then and she was the last person he had expected to see in the shop. In fact, he had been more relaxed the last few days thinking that she was already gone, as he had been worried to run into her during the last months. After all, Dillon was a small town and it was quite easy to run into somebody at the usual shopping and hanging out spots. He had even thought about starting dating again, but the moment he saw her walking towards his office he knew he was not over her at all. He closed his laptop while scratching the back of his neck, and exited the office, meeting them half way.

"Good morning, Riggs," Bradley said shaking his hand.

"Morning Bradley. I've those wipers ready for you. Just five minutes, let me get them," he said trying to focus on Bradley instead of María. He had not seen her for months and he was finding it difficult to keep his eyes off her since the moment he had noticed her in the garage.

"Hi Billy, how are you?" she softly said before he headed for the back, shyly stepping in for a hug.

"Hi M, good and you? I thought you were gone to college..." he muttered embracing her briefly. Being rude to her was the last he wanted, but it was hard for him to be so close to her.

He was not the only one. "We're heading there right now. Bradley said he had to stop for some... wipers..." she stammered. "What am I doing? Excusatio non petita, acusatio manifesta... Why am I explaining why we are here?" she thought. Luckily for her Billy ran into the back just to come back in a few seconds holding the set of wipers.

As they all started walking over Bradley's SUV Billy could not help himself from asking. "So you'll both be at UT Austin? Must be great to have someone to share all that."

"It is. Going with friends makes things much easier," Bradley happily answered. There was something strange in the way Billy had been looking at María since they had arrived in the shop, and she was clearly avoiding his gaze. "What's going on with these two?"

Billy managed to quickly change the wipers while still looking at Maria, as she suddenly became very interested in her tennis shoes. She just raised her head when she heard Billy speak again. "Well, all set. Will last at least a good six months," he said when he had finished.

"Great, Riggs. How much do I owe you?" Bradley asked.

"Nothing, man. This was included in your last service." Once more Billy could not keep his eyes off María, and he was finding it hard to focus on Bradley, who, by then, had already figured out the way Billy was looking at her.

"Thank you so much. We better get going, we have a long drive ahead of us," he said shaking Billy's hand again.

"Anytime Bradley. Drive safe and take good care of her," Billy said turning to María. "Bye, M. Go get them, okay?" he said hugging her. She held him tight for a second and stepped back, resisting the temptation of resting her head on his chest as she noticed the smell of his aftershave.

She just wanted to get in Bradley's SUV as soon as possible, but once she was there she had to say goodbye properly, and that of course included thanking him. "Thanks Billy. I wouldn't be going to UT if it wasn't for you."

He shook his head smiling at her. "Nah, you're there thanks to your hard work. Never forget that, M." She was one of the most talented people that he had come across during his life, but she was also hard-working, and he was sure that that combination would lead her to the top. He just wished he could be by her side along the way, as his friend, like he had been until last year. Of course he would like to be by her side in another capacity, but he found that impossible as he was certain she would never reciprocate his feelings.

"No, all those years with you at the range and the course... I would've never made it to GMI without your help. So thank you." Very much like his brother Tim, Billy was very generous, but María knew for a fact that he had played a leading role in her golf, and in her whole life. As she had told him once before, beside her parents he had been the most important person in her life.

"Keep in touch, will you?" he softly asked while she was grabbing the door handle, Bradley already inside the car starting the engine. Billy was well aware that he should keep his distance if he wanted to be over her, but the truth was that he did want to be in touch with her. "A few emails from afar won't do any harm," he tried to convince himself while he eagerly waited for her response.

His request took her by surprise, but she suddenly felt tired of putting up a wall between them. She had just left her home to go to college, she felt vulnerable, to say the least, and this unexpected encounter with Billy had greatly confused her after months of strong resolution. Why could they not be friends once she was in Austin? Why did she have to give that up, too? She would be immersed in a new life and sure a few postcards would not hurt her. Plus how could she say "no, I won't keep in touch" to him without being rude? "Haven't we been friends since I can remember? Why should I let my feelings get in the way once I'm college? Why can't we be in touch like we were when I was in Florida?" For once, the voice in her head that used to say "because you're in love with him and you need to move on" was silent, probably due to the fact that she could not think clearly with him holding the car door open for her.

"I'd really like that, Billy. Bye," she nodded smiling before quickly getting into the SUV while Billy briefly leant on one of the cars parked by the main entrance, before heading to his small office to answer the ringing phone.

This time it was María who gently reached for Bradley's hand while he was driving onto the road. He took a quick look at her in awe and saw tears running down her cheeks. Again, he pulled over, but on this occasion he did not ask if she was okay. It was obvious she was not. He just held her hand while soft country music was playing in the radio, waiting for her to calm down.

"It's him, isn't it?" he dared to ask softly after a few minutes of silence, still holding her hand.

"What?" the question caught her off guard.

"Billy Riggins, it's him. The guy on you mind?" he asked again letting her hand go.

"Bradley, please..." she said wiping off her tears. The last thing she needed right then was talking about him.

"Come on, María. You've just left your home for college and you've managed to do it with no tears. But you've seen Riggs for like, five minutes, and you reach for my hand. Not that I am complaining…, but you can't stop crying. Plus I've seen the way you look at him when you're not avoiding his eyes..." he said shifting and unbuckling his seatbelt so he could face her.

She sighed trying to control her tears. There was no point in denying it. Bradley had witnessed how upset she was after seeing Billy and she could not think of any good excuse for that. She had done her best to try and control herself but this time she had not been able to manage her conflicting emotions. Besides that, during the summer Bradley had become one of her best friends. They would be practically living together from then on, at least in the same dorms, so she could very well tell him the truth.

"Yeah, you're right. As much as I don't like to acknowledge it, it's him," she managed to say looking at Bradley. She felt a lump in her throat and tears were still falling down her cheeks. It was hard to admit it after her efforts to forget Billy.

"Okay." He could see that she was really upset, and he thought that distracting her might do the trick. But he chose the wrong topic. "I thought it was Jack…" he slowly said locking eyes with her.

"Jack?" she asked confused. "What does Jack have to do with all this?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Jack Byrne. You dated for a while, didn't you?" The fact that he turned his gaze to the windshield as he voiced his question was not lost on María. She was not the only one uncomfortable talking about this, and somehow she felt better.

"We did… for sixteen months..." she muttered looking down.

"When you mentioned the lake I remembered seeing you both there …" he added turning to look at her again. It was true. He had frequently run into them at the lake during the two summers María and Jack had been together, and that image rushed back to his mind when María finally told him the real reason she would prefer to go somewhere else.

"Yeah, we used to go there…" she whispered remembering that it was one of their favorite places. For the first time since things became tense between them, she was reminded of the good times they had shared together as happy memories with Jack vividly came to her mind. First, like friends, growing up, both part of "The great five", as they called themselves. Then when she came home for the summer when they both were sixteen and they started dating right away. They spent a lot of time together, mainly at the range and the lake, and after that during the school year they faced distance the best they could until she came back home for her senior year. "Oh, we were so excited about everything, we had so many plans…" At that time she had really thought she was in love with him. "How did we end up so badly?" They were not friends anymore, and that thought always made her sad.

Tears kept falling down her cheeks and Bradley realized his change of topic was not working. He tried to play it down.

"I'm sorry María. I didn't want to upset you more by bringing him up… You'll be glad to know that I nearly punched the guy…" he softly said.

"What?"

"I run into Jack at the theatre in Larabee two weeks ago, when I took my sister and my cousins to the movies. And I couldn't help it… You know, always the perfect guy, straight A student, QB1, surrounded by girls, and I also thought you…. Anyway, I wanted to punch the guy… Good thing I didn't..."

María truly smiled for the first time since they had left her driveway. "Well, you never know, maybe he deserved it…" she softly said.

"Yeah, maybe… we'd better get going. We left your house a while ago and we're still in Dillon. I hope your parents don't see us here, we'd have to come up with a really good excuse…" he said buckling up his seatbelt again, once that she seemed calm.

"Yes, like a mechanical breakdown or something. And then we'd have to go back to Riggins' Rigs just to pretend in front of them so… , no, please drive…" she laughed.

When he was about to start the engine again, María reached for his right hand and stopped him. "Bradley, wait up… I… I promise I'll tell you everything about Billy..." she stammered.

"María, you don't have to do that..." he said softly placing his right hand on the steering wheel, avoiding her hand purposely. During the last hour they had held each other's hands for more that once, and that was something they had never done before. And all that touching was making him really nervous. He reminded himself of the imperative need to keep a physical distance if he wanted to be friends with her, like he had been doing for the last months.

María pretended not to notice his hand moving away. She remembered how things had started with Tim, a touch here, a hug there, and she did not want to go down that road again, at least not while she had feelings for someone else. So Bradley was right to keep a distance. She will have to bear that in mind, too. "I know, but I really want to. As soon as we stop to have lunch... Otherwise we are never leaving Dillon..." she trailed off.

He chuckled. "Okay then, but just because you want to..." With that, Bradley started the car and they finally took off for Austin. The ride was quiet, listening to music on the radio and both of them making small talk. After two hours, Bradley started to feel tired. "Would you like to stop now? Think my neck is getting stiff..." he said moving his head from right to left.

"Sure, but I can drive if you want. That's if you trust me with your car..." María shyly said.

"I thought you'd know by now that I'd trust you with anything, even my car... " "Why did I just say that? It sounded flirtatious… all this touching is affecting me…"… "but I'm hungry..."

"Yeah, me too. The next diner it is..."

The next diner happened to be the nicest one they had ever seen on a highway. They found it by chance, but it was somehow cozy. They sat down in one of the booths, looking at the menus. They ordered, and by the time María was clearing her throat to start talking about Billy their food arrived. Bradley noticed her expression. "I'd think we should eat first, María. We have plenty of time to talk, if that's what you want to do..."

"You're right..." she said.

When they had finished eating, glass of Coke in her hand and with no further ado, María began telling him about Billy. "We were really close growing up. Walt Riggins was my first golf teacher and his sons were usually at the range. Timmy and I were always playing around with Miles, Alan and Jack and soon enough Billy became my big brother too. He was the one who would keep an eye on us the times no adults were around. He often golfed with my granddad and I would spend most summer afternoons at their pool. He even taught me how to swim and how to ride a bike, and when he started High School he made the football team and my father became his Coach. But he was a great golfer and he still spent a lot if time at the range and the course, and he was the only one willing to be with me when all my friends were already tired and wanted to do something else. Timmy and Miles were my best friends, but Billy was like the big brother I never had... and he was a good big brother, always ready to teach me new things and to spend time with me although I was just a little girl..."

"You two go way back then..." Bradley dared to whisper.

"Yes, both Billy and Tim are like family to me. But unlike Timmy, Billy never disappointed me. He stayed in touch all the time while I was in Florida. I mean, I know Jason's accident was a shock to everyone, even for me, but he just disappeared... I guess that with Lyla and everything he just... He stopped writing and calling, and everytime I called him he was drunk, no matter what time it was..."

He did not know why, but Bradley felt the need to defend Tim. Maybe it was because he had not behaved like a friend in those days. "María, he was really a mess back then, and the ones around him didn't know how to help him. And that includes me... Did you know that in revenge for what he did to Jason some guys from the team shattered his truck windows, with baseball bats, in his driveway, while he was inside? I was among them…"

María's eyes opened wide. "What? He never told me... I can't believe you did that, Bradley..." That did not sound like him at all.

He nodded. "I did, and I am not proud at all, but it was a hard time for all of us and we were playing it by ear... I'm glad you weren't home then to see all that..."

"Yeah, I know it was a hard year..."

"So Billy kept in touch?" Bradley asked. He was not comfortable remembering that particular time and was really curious about Billy and María.

"He did, I'd usually get a postcard from him now and then over those years, we'd speak over the phone regularly and he called on my birthday every year, and I'd turn to him everytime I needed advice and comfort. Once I had a sprained ankle and missed the State finals I had been training so hard for, and of course he was the first one I called. Don't get me wrong, I am really grateful I had the chance to be there for three years, but sometimes it was hard being away from home, you know. That's why I wanted to come back home for my senior year, against everybody's advice. My teachers and coaches in Florida could not understand it, but I finally convinced my parents and did it. And I'm so glad I did..." María trailed off.

"And I guess something happened with Billy then..." Bradley was starting to get the whole picture.

She hesitated about telling him about Jack, in particular the reasons that had led her to break up with him. But she looked at Bradley and chose to be honest with him. There was not point in hiding anything from him now that they would be practically living together. And she should not feel embarrassed about it. "Jack and I had been dating for over a year by then and all of a sudden he had a lot of reasons to start having sex once we were living in the same county. I had always told him that I wasn't ready, and I still wasn't ready, but he did something that actually scared me… And all those rumors about Molly Farlane… I don't know, all this situation with Jack somehow made me find out what I really felt for Billy. I suddenly realized that even when I was happy with Jack, those feelings had always been there, covered up by friendship, common interests, age difference, and, while I was in Florida, also physical distance…"

Her voice was getting lower as she started telling Bradley about her senior year. She did not leave out anything: Timmy being back in her life again, her hard break up with Jack, her parents' constant worries, her wrist injury, the craziness about being with Tim for a short period of time to try and forget Billy, her father's stroke, kissing Billy that day and he kissing her back, and how they had both apologised for those kisses weeks later.

"And I've been avoiding him for the last three months. Not seeing him or talking about him was really working, and for the first time in months my first thought waking up every day wasn't about him. That's why I couldn't believe it when you said that our last stop would be at his car shop... I know I have to get over him. He's way out of my league and would never feel that way about me, and, above all that, he's engaged. Everytime I see him it gets worse… Please don't tell anyone, Bradley, you're the only one that knows about the day of the stroke, not even Tim…"

At that point Bradley smiled. "You know I won't, María. And I think I have good news for you..."

What?" she asked just before taking a sip from her Coke. "I can't believe I just told him all that and he's smiling and saying he has good news..."

He nodded. "I have. First of all, he's not engaged anymore, María," he said looking at her intently.

She nearly chocked with her Coke. "Come again," she managed to say coughing, thinking that she had misheard.

He chuckled. "You heard right. He's not engaged anymore, at least not to Mindy Collette..."

María shook her head in surprise. "But... when... how... how do you know that?" she stammered. "Please, if you're not sure, just don't…"

He interrupted her. "I'm sure. I wouldn't tell you otherwise. Don't know when, but I think it's been going on for a while. Angela Collette herself told my mom, they had just found out because Mindy wouldn't tell them..."

"She must be devastated" she thought. She then recalled her graduation, they were seated separatedly. "They must've been broken up by then..." She wondered then if he was still engaged the afternoon he had made her go to the freshmen weekend, as he did offer to drive her to Austin. But why hadn't Timmy told her? And then it hit her. "On graduation day. He was trying to tell me something, but Lyla showed up. From then on we never mentioned Billy again. And the day he came by before heading for San Antonio he was too worried about college..."

"Oh... it must have been hard," she said snapping back to reality, finding a worried Bradley in front of her. "Sorry, I was just thinking..."

"Don't worry, I know... but I think I've more good news for you..." he added. "Listen, María, you know that I'd never hurt you, right?" he stated grabbing her hand.

"I do..." She whispered looking at their joint hands and wondering where he was getting at.

"And the last thing I'd like to do is give rise to any false hopes..."

"Meaning..." She was more confused with every word he was saying.

"He doesn't look at you as his little sister, María," he finally dared to say locking eyes with her.

"What do you mean?" María was still coming to terms with the fact that apparently Billy was no longer engaged, and she was having trouble following Bradley.

He cleared his throat thinking how honest he should be to her, finally deciding to be completely honest. "Full disclosure," he thought. "He looks at you the way Tim looks at Lyla, the way Matt looks at Julie, the way I look at you..."

María chuckled. She could not believe what he was telling her. Deliberately ignoring his last line, she squeezed his hand and focused again on Billy. "Bradley, he's more than seven years my senior, he's had his fair share of women, you know he's always been very successful in that department... I'm not his type at all..."

"Then, have you ever wondered why he kissed you back that day?" he asked interrupting her, letting her hand go and resting his body on the back of the booth.

She sighed. "Bradley, he apologised for that..."

"Yeah, but why did he do it in the first place? Ever think of that?"

It was a very good question. She had been so embarrassed and had felt so guilty about the whole kiss situation that she had never stopped to think about his reasons for doing it. Astonished, she found out that she had no reply.

"Well?" he enquired again.

"I... I don't know, Bradley. He... he never mentioned it, he just apologised, and I was too embarrased to ask..." she said trying to recall his exact words that afternoon at the range. But all she could remember about that moment was the deep sorrow she had felt when he apologised. How it had hurt her.

Bradley smiled once more. He had no doubts about the way Billy had looked at her at the shop earlier, as much as he would like to be the only one to look at María like that, and he wished above all that she would look back at him the same way. But he knew he did not stand a chance. She and Billy had history together, and he could not fight that. "Well, just think about it. I bet he'll be in touch soon..."

"I don't know, Bradley... if he does, it'll be just because we've always been friends…" María mumbled trying to take in everything that he had mentioned. It was a lot to process, while starting college no less.

"Wait and see. Of course he'll play the friend card as a start… Anyway, you have plenty of time to think till Thansgiving, if you want to pursue it..." He knew María needed time to let the news sink in.

"I don't know," she repeated, "it is too complicated, and I'm sure he'll be dating someone by then..." After all her hard efforts to forget him, the last thing she needed was to go back to square one.

He chuckled. "I think that depends on you now, how you want to handle all this..."

"Well, if he writes, I'll keep you posted..." she said still thinking about the fact that Billy was no longer engaged and wondering if Bradley was right about the way Billy looked at her."Well, he doesn't have any reason to say so unless he actually sees it."

"Come on, time to go. We have to get there before the rush hour. Do you wanna drive?" he asked standing up and handing her his keys. He could see he had given her food for thought and maybe she could use the distraction.

"Really? Sure! I'd better text my mom to let her know that we stopped halfway for lunch. I don't want them to worry..." She quickly wrote a text while heading for the door, waving goodbye to the waitress.

"Yeah, please do, I don't want Coach McGill sending the police searching for his daughter..." he said holding the door opened for her and placing his hand on her lower back while she stepped out in the hot Texan sun.

After a long drive, they found an almost empty campus as most of the students would not be arriving until the following week. Maria and Bradley took a quick look around and started unloading his helped each other to settle in. Both their roommates had not arrived yet. María was happy to know that her roomie would be Annie Aguirre, whom she had met during the freshmen weekend. She was a sweet girl from Boise, Idaho, who had travelled then with her boyfriend Hank. María found both of them to be very nice people and they had even visited some of the sights in Austin together. She was sure Annie and she would get on very well.

She was about to get ready for bed on her first night at college when she checked her phone and noticed that she had a new message. "Who could it be this late today?"

She flipped it open to find that it was a text from Billy. "Hey, M. Hope u r already in Austin and everything's good. Great seeing u today. My email: rigginsrigs , please write. Promise I'll write back. Go get them! Take care."

Billy had been thinking about María all day since they had left his garage for Austin. He had never been the one to believe in fate, but he was sure some strong power had made her stop at his shop just before going to college, after succeeding in avoiding her for the last months. "It has to mean something," he kept saying to himself. Finally, that night, while he was watching television alone at his house, tired from a hard day at work, he decided he had to let her know he was happy to have seen her. "That's something I'd do for sure if I had no feelings for her, she won't find it strange," he thought, and he sent the text.

On the other end of the phone, María read it several times and dialed Bradley's number straight away.

"Are you all right, María?" he worriedly asked. The dorms were still mostly empty and her call had scared him.

"Yes, I am. Sorry to bother you this late, but he texted..." María replied trying to keep her voice steady.

"What?" He had just fallen sleep some minutes ago and was still trying to focus on what she was saying.

"Billy texted, Bradley. Maybe… maybe you were right, I still don't know… What do I do now?" she anxiously asked.

He could feel she was nervous, and he was happy that she was trusting him with this. As for the last months, and despite his feelings for her, he was more than happy to be just her friend if that was all she wanted from him. But as María had started driving his SUV once they left the diner, he had been worried that maybe he had been too forward letting her know how he felt about her and that could endanger their friendship, but the way she had behaved since then was making him think otherwise. And her call had just proved him that she still trusted him.

"That depends, María. What do you really want?" That question lingered in her mind. "Don't know, Bradley. I sure wasn't expecting this… I guess keeping his friendship is my highest priority, but I don't know if I'd be able to be close to him just as a friend again. A lot has changed in the last year…"

And her whole life was changing by the minute. María's first week at college went much faster than expected. Her roommate Annie arrived the following day and they reconnected at once. María brought her up to speed about the little tricks she and Bradley had found out about the dorms the prior day, and Annie shared with her that she had just broken up with her boyfriend Hank. Apparently he had been sleeping with her best friend for months ("Oh, God, is that a classic?" María thought to herself) and she had only found out before coming from Austin. María did her best to cheer her up and luckily for Annie golf practice started soon.

The first days at the range were easy for María. Her swing was praised by all the Coaches and she suddenly found herself training with the juniors and the seniors. So by the time classes started, she had earned herself a spot in the first team when that had never been in her head for that first year.

Along with the classes, Tyra arrived in Austin. She was staying off campus, but shared one class with María and Bradley. They would usually have coffee together after that class, and one day that Bradley had to go to the dorms to help his roomie, who had just arrived, Tyra asked the question María knew she would ask as soon as she had the chance ("What's the deal with you and Bradley? You two together?"), and María answered her well rehearsed reply ("No, Tyra, we're just friends").

She was not in the mood for one of Tyra's interrogations right now. She had been thinking about Billy since the moment she got his text, and that had been a few days before. In fact she had texted him back that very night, "Thank u for ur text Billy. Great seeing u too. I promise I'll write. Take care," thinking that it would be the text she would send him if she had no romantic feelings for him.

Bradley's question that night had made it clear to her that her main goal regarding Billy was to keep him as a friend. As she had told Tami months ago, she was not ready to lose him, and she was certain that he did not harbor that kind of feelings for her, despite what Bradley thought. "But he did say he would write and he did text that night… maybe he's not wrong..."

Yet she had promised Billy to write and she had not done it so far, so she muttered a quick goodbye to an astonished Tyra, who was gathering her things to go to the cafetería, as usual, and literally run to her dorm.

Once she turned on her laptop, she opened her email and started writing. Little did she know then that by writing and sending that first email she was laying the foundations of a new epistolary relationship with Billy that would bring them close again as the good friends they had always been until their feelings got in the way during her senior year in Dillon. The email proved to be the proper tool to provide both of them an opportunity to share their daily joys and concerns while allowing them to keep the distance they very much needed to do so. Despite the physical distance between them, after a few weeks emailing each other they felt in sync once more.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

Date: September 1st 2008 11:45 am

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Hey!

Hi Billy,

How are you? Sorry for taking so long to write to you but these first weeks have been hectic.

First of all, I hope you're well and not missing Timmy too much. How's the shop doing?

You'd like it here very much. The golf facilities are amazing and everything is about golf for us in the team. We have gym at 6 am and early practice at 7 or 8 am, then classes and the whole team gathers for lunch and practice again until mid-afternoon. Crazy schedule, if you ask me.

Almost forgot to tell you that I'm training with the juniors and the seniors, as they think I have the level to do that (?). In fact, I made the first team just on my first week here, can you believe that? Most players have to wait at least two years... I'm worried though, I'm afraid I will not measure up to their standards. Bradley keeps telling me to stop worrying and enjoy the moment, but I don't know… For the time being I'm working hard everyday and let's see what happens. Our first game will be in two weeks.

Apart from that, everything's good. I've a great roomie, Annie, from Boise, Idaho (her real name is Ainhoa but everybody calls her Annie). I met her on the freshmen weekend and we connected right away, so it was a nice surprise to be roommates. By the way, I'll never thank you enough for making me come that weekend. I was lost at the time and you came to my rescue. So thank you.

I don't want to bore you. Take care and please keep in touch.

P.S.- If you talk to Timmy, please tell him I said hi. Haven't heard from him yet, hope he's doing well in San Antonio.

Date: September 2nd 2008 09:02 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi M!

Thanks for writing. I'm not very good at this, but i promised and here i am.

Wow! First team! already! That's awesome, M, congrats. Please don't worry, … you're gonna kick ass! Totally. So don't worry and enjoy! Really proud of you, M.

Everything about UT sounds great, don't bore me at all.

Sorry I have to go now, just wanted you to know that i read your email and that i'm happy for you. Please keep writing. Business is doing well, by the way, thank you.

Take care and go get them!

P.S.- I'll tell Timmy you asked about him, don't really know how he's doing, you know, he's not much of a talker, even less over the phone...

Date: September 7th 2008 07:36 am

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

I hope you're doing well.

Life is still hectic here. We have our first game next weekend, in Oklahoma, and we are working hard. I'm still training with the first team, and I'm still surprised I'm keeping my spot. But I have to tell you that I am worried and nervous, if I don't play well next week I probably end up losing it.

So far I am trying to enjoy the moment. Don't get me wrong, I haven't become wild all of a sudden, but Bradley keeps telling me I should cut myself some slack. Annie is quite depressed and I don't know what to do to help her. That worries me for sure.

I have to go now, we have early practice (yes, at 8 am on a Sunday!)

Take care and write soon!

P.S.- Still haven't heard from Timmy. Hope he's well.

Date: September 7st 2008 09:26 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

HI M!

Your not the only one working early on a Sunday! But I'm glad I had to come, I got to read your email.

Good luck with the game in Oklahoma! I'm sure your gonna kick ass!

That reminds me. Got a call from the driving range manager yesterday, told me he'd asked you during the summer if you knew someone who could teach golf on weekends throughout the year and you told him about me, he said praising my golf and my teaching skills (?). Don't know how to thank you, M. Just thinking about being near golf again, and besides getting paid for it, don't know, means the world to me. Have an interview later today, so wish me luck.

Bradley is right, enjoy the moment. I know you're not going wild. Hope Annie feels better soon, that'd help you for sure.

Spoke to Timmy two days ago. Hard to say how he's doing, had to drag the words out of him, but he seemed ok. He said to say hi to you and tell you that he'll write soon. Gave him your email address, just in case he lost it…

Take care and write soon. Go get them!

Date: September 7st 2008 1:14 pm

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

I'm so happy about that interview. Please let me know how it goes as soon as possible, okay? Yes, when they asked me if I knew someone for the job you came to my mind right away. You're a great golfer and a great teacher, and, above all, a great person. I can't think of anyone better than you to teach kids and teenagers.

I hope Timmy writes soon, I'm really curious about his life in college.

I have to run now, I'm meeting Tyra and Bradley for lunch.

Again, good luck with the interview! (although I know you don't need it).

Take care,

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, SEP 7 2008, 7:37 P.M.: Got it! Interview went really well and got the job. Starting next weekend. Thank u so much, M, u have no idea how much this means 2 me. Thnxs.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, SEP 7 2008, 7:39 P.M.: Yes! I knew it! So proud of u! Those kids don't know how lucky they are 2 have u as their golf teacher. Really proud!

Date: September 14th 2008 11:17 pm

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

I hope you´re well. How'd your first weekend at the range go?

We had our first game this weekend, and this last week has been hard preparing for it, with classes and all. We're just back from Oklahoma, and we did very well, we won! I wish you'd seen it, I'm sure you'd have enjoyed it.

Remember when I was little and you used to tell me about golf pros? Back then I couldn't believe there were actual people that played golf for a living, but as soon as you told me I wanted to be one of them. Remember that? Well, now I feel I'm on my way to it. So, once more, thank you very much for everything. I couldn't have done it without you. I wish you were here to share all this with you.

And I am enjoying classes so far, too. I'm even considering double majoring in Business and Psychology, we'll see. I know Business is much more useful, but what I really like, besides golf, is Psycology. Before deciding I'd like to speak to Mrs Taylor, see if she thinks it's doable. And I'm enjoying college life, too, whenever I have the time. Annie is still depressed. The thing's she broke up with her boyfriend just before school started and she's not dealing well with it. We're thinking of going to a party on Friday, I hope it'll cheer her up, at least for a while.

I have to go now, as I have an early class tomorrow.

Take care and write soon!

Date: September 15th 2008 09:02 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

HI M!

Congrats! I wish I could've seen it. Keep up the good work. You don't have to thank me, your there because you've worked hard all your life.

The first weekend at the range went good. Thought I was a little bit rusty but I'm not. Don't tell anybody, my whole body aches today. Haha, I can hear you chuckling right now, please have mercy. Hope to be back to normal for next weekend. Some of the kids are good players but not even close to you at that age.

Double major? That's impressive. Great that your going to a party. Hope you enjoy it. Just be carefull, ok? You never know with all that crazy and drunk students. But I'm sure Annie'll like it.

Take care and write soon. Go get them!

Date: September 21st 2008 7:55 am

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

Glad to hear everything is good at the range. To be honest, I didn't expect any less from you. Those kids don't know how lucky they are! And I bet you're in good shape, stop complaining. I know that you're old, but I'm sure not too old for golf (remember my granddad still played at 78? Just saying...).

Sometimes I wish I was thirteen again and I could practice with you. It's been a hard week, the hardest one since I came here. Coach Harris (one of the assistants) has been complaining about my overbackswing non-stop. And the truth is that I think I haven't changed my swing at all. I'm starting to doubt myself… I enclose a video taken two days ago. Could you please do me a favor and tell me if you can see the overbackswing he keeps nagging me about?

Another big favor? Please go see Timmy in San Antonio if you have the chance. He finally called yesterday and sounded quite gloomy about college. I'm sure you know he's not getting much chances to play, but I'm afraid he finds the rest of it quite boring and demanding. Please check on him?

Remember the party I told you about? Not my scene, really, very much like parties in Dillon with lots of booze and thus drunk people, only bigger. But it certainly changed our routine as John (Bradley's roomie) and Annie are now together and hardly leave his room, so Bradley and I are stuck in mine most of the time. We're like a married couple now. Bradley says that they are just each other's rebound and they'll split up soon. Can you believe her boyfriend had been sleeping with her best friend for months? No wonder she felt bad.

I wonder what my parents would say if they knew that I am actually living with Bradley… so please don't tell them… I know you and my dad are close, but please don't even mention it to him, I don't want them to worry.

Take care,

Date: September 22nd 2008 19:36 pm

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi M!

Sorry couldn't write sooner, been downloading tons of software all day to be able to see that video (Who knew you needed all this to watch a video on your computer? I thought these things were prepared for everything...). And I'm sorry to tell you that Coach Harris is right, you tend to overbackswing. But don't worry, you can fix it easily, just change a little bit your feet, moving slightly the tip of your right foot to the right (not too much, your stance is great asit is now). Tell me how it goes and, very important, keep calm.

Thank you for your advice. Spoke to Timmy this morning and sounded ok. But I'm trying to go see him soon, just to be sure.

Parties same ol' story everywhere i see. Don't know if I should be telling you this, you should know that rebounds can be fun, I speak from experience, so don't expect them to break up soon. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, won't tell your folks your living in sin.

And for the cheating thing, I don't understand it either, but I've kind of done something similar (not sleeping with somebody for months, but thinking about someone else for months), so I guess I am not the best one to discuss that.

Take care and don't overthink your overbackswing (too much over, haha). And write soon.

Date: September 28th 2008 10:11 pm

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

I meant to write to you sooner but it's been a tough week. Thank you so much for your tip for the overbackswing. It's working great and Coach Harris is no longer complaining about it, which is a relief with everything that is going on here. So thanks, I really wish you were here and I could practice with you. Have you ever thought about applying for the official qualification to be a pro golf coach? I'm sure you'd pass with flying colors.

The bad news is that we lost our game today. Arizona State has a wonderful team, no wonder they are always at the top. At least I won my own match and I'm keeping my spot on the first team, which honestly I thought I had lost just a week ago (thanks again). I feel exhausted as all the tension is now wearing off, and I don't know if I'll be able to make it to early practice tomorrow.

Between classes and golf I barely have time for anything else. I know there's still plenty of time until the finals but I hope I'll get used to this rhythm by then… I guess I am kind of gloomy these days, but I am really tired. And worried about classes. The double major doesn't seem such a good idea now, so I'm not making any changes for this semester. I haven't talked to Mrs Taylor yet. Bradley keeps trying to cheer me up. He's a great roomie and I'm starting to think that I'm gonna miss him when Annie comes back (if she ever comes back).

"Living in sin"… That sounds… Just to clarify, although bound to live in the same room, Bradley and I are just friends, and even if we were something else, I don't think we'd be living in sin. I don't think I'm ready for that. Anyway, I hope Annie is enjoying the moment (won't she feel worse in the end?) because as much as I like Bradley as a friend, I miss her.

Regarding the "sleeping with his/her best friend" thing, I have to tell you that I have also thought about someone while dating someone else. So I do agree with you that I am not the one to talk about it, either. Maybe it's just the "sleeping part" that makes it more outrageous, at least from the outside.

Take care, Billy, and thanks for everything.

P.D.- Tell Timmy I say hi.

Date: September 29th 2008 09:05 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi M!

Anytime, you know that. Coming to work on Mondays is great since I always have an email from you. Official qualification to be a pro golf coach? Really think I'd have a chance?

Sorry about the team loss, congrats on your match win. Glad the tip is working. Send me another video and we check it out, if you want. Most important thing: don't worry and don't overthink things. And listen to Bradley, M. I'm sure he wants what's best for you.

Meant no offense with the living in sin thing, I'm sorry. If you miss her, I hope Annie goes back to your room soon. Yeah, she may feel bad in the end, but I bet right now she's enjoying herself.

Thinking about someone while dating someone else, not sound like you at all. Your right, the sleeping part makes it worse, so let your roomie enjoy the moment. She probably needs it.

Almost forgot to tell you that I run into Jack at the range on Saturday. Said he was home from Notre Dame for the weekend and was there with his little cousin Mike, was his first day, he's 7 and will be joining my beginners class. Had the impression he was avoiding me as much as possible, any idea why? I know you dated him, but he's turned out to be quite a character (again no offense).

Take care. Go get them!

Date: October 3th 2008 9:48 am

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

Sorry again, I intended to write much sooner but got wrapped in this hectic life. Sorry! There you have a new video, let me know what you think about it. I asked Coach Harris about the official qualification exam, and it sounds quite achievable. If you're interested, I can ask for further information on it.

We're working hard for our game in California next week. We have a day off today (finally, can you believe it?) and I think I'm going to spend most of it in bed. I'm so tired… Bradley is trying to convince me to go to a concert tonight but I think I need some space from him. Annie hasn't come back yet and we're still living together. Not taken (the living in sin thing). I know what you meant.

Doesn't sound like me? Thank you and likewise. I remember that some of your girlfriends in High School used to praise you for not cheating on them (you'd be surprised to know the extend of the information a teenager in love can share with a ten year old girl during a celebration). Funny what you say about Jack (not taken, again). Let me be just polite and tell you that we ended up quite badly. I guess he's avoiding you because he thinks I've told you about it. He knows you're like my big brother. But I know Mike, and he's a great kid, so take good care of him.

Have you spoken to Timmy again? I'm beginning to worry about him.

Take care,

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, OCT 4 2008, 6:43 A.M.: Happy Birthday, Billy! Hope u have a great day. We have a clinic with kids today, UT volunteer program activity. I'll do my best 2 call you during the day. Enjoy!

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, OCT 4 2008, 9:05 A.M.: Thxs M! Oh, I'm getting old. Don't worry, I know u r busy. Take care and thxs!

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, OCT 5 2008, 0:53 A.M.: Sorry M, just saw ur 5 missed calls! Went out with some friends and didn't hear them. Thxs so much 4 calling. I'll write soon. Take care and sorry again!

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, OCT 5 2008, 6:26 A.M.: Don't worry, Billy, thxs for texting. Hope u had a good time. Take care,

Date: October 6th 2008 09:18 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi M!

Ever told you now I like Mondays now because I get your email when I come into work? Stop apologising, I know your life is busy. And thanks a lot for calling on my birthday, I'm really sorry I missed your calls and we couldn't talk.

Just had a look at your video. What I can say? Think your swing is the best one I've ever seen. Your going places, M. Honestly. Hope Coach Harris has no complaints now. You really think I could make it (the official qualification)? Truth is I'm happier teaching golf than fixing cars (don't tell Timmy).

All day in bed? Did you really? Everything Ok with Bradley? Or I need to have a little talk with him?

My girlfriends back then told you about that stuff? Really? I'm sorry you had to put up with that, M.

Didn't know you and Jack ended up badly. I remember you told us about a rally girl, but I thought that was all. Don't get me wrong, not saying that isn't enough to end things, because it is, but by the way you talk about it I think there's much more to it. I'm sorry, M.

Take care and go get them!

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, OCT 8 2008, 8:49 P.M.: Hi M! Know that u r busy, emergency! Please call Tim 2 our house. Dropped out college and showed up home today. Please try convince him 2 go back. Thnxs.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, OCT 8 2008, 8:53 P.M.: Right away! Thank u 4 letting me know.

Date: October 12h 2008 11:57 pm

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

Sorry again, I intended to write earlier but I keep failing to do it.

How's Timmy doing? There's something I've been wanting to tell you since Wednesday. Despite he's gone back, I'm not sure he's not gonna drop out college for good sooner or later, Billy. He feels trapped there and he's not getting many chances to play, so football is not helping. You should get used to the idea and be prepared for it. He's got to do something in case he comes back. Dillon Tech? Mechanics? He may like that, being with you, in Dillon, fixing cars, drinking beers… you know his usual line. Will you please think about it?

We're just back from California. We won! And I'm happy with my game. And thank you for praising my swing like that. And of course I think you could make it (apply for the official qualification). I'm gonna do some digging about it.

Everything is okay with Bradley. He's really great. But sometimes I feel I need some space from him, you know? It's hard when temptation lives with you in a small room… And no, finally I did not spend all day in bed, Bradley did drag me to this concert, and I have to admit we had a great time.

You don't have to apologise for that, Billy. All your girlfriends were nice and always treated me very well at those gatherings, especially Lori and Jen. They never said anything bad, on the contrary.

Jack… let's say that the rally girl was the softest part of all it. He did something that scared me and when we broke up he said some things that hurt me deeply. To be fair, he was not the only one to blame. I should've ended things as soon as I stopped trusting him. As I said before, I'm sure he thinks you know about it, and that's why he avoids you.

I'd better get some sleep now, I'm worn out and we have early practice tomorrow.

Take care,

Date: October 13th 2008 9:11 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi!

Congrats on you win! I mean it about your swing, the best I've ever seen.

Your right about Timmy, M, and I'm sorry I didn't see it coming, you warned me. I'm sure he'd be happy doing that, less the drinking beers part. I've been sober for nearly 5 months now, and he's been a huge help in that. It was killing me, M. I feel like new now. It's still a struggle sometimes, but definitely the worst is over.

Anyway, I think mechanics could be a good option for him if he comes back (really hope he doesn't). Thank you for your help, you always read him very well. I wonder what he did to you that you broke up so soon.

Temptation? What do you mean by that exactly?

Yeah, Lori and Jen were both great. I can't believe you remember them, it's been a long time.

Sorry to hear about Jack. Don't know about it, but if he was a jerk you shouldn't blame yourself, not a bit. And I'm curious, should I punch him next time I see him?

Take it easy this week and rest as much as you can. I bet your schedule gets tighter with the trips to the games. Gonna kiss ass next game!

Date: October 18th 2008 9:16 am

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy,

Sorry again, I really want to write more often but this is crazy here. I'm exhausted and it is just mid October, and you're right, the trips to the games just make it even harder.

I'm so, so sorry Billy, I didn't know drinking had become a problem. I've been thinking about that since I read your email a few days ago. I just… really, I don't know what to say. I'm happy to know that you're well now. Are you going to meetings? Is there anything I can do to help?

Enclosed you may find some information regarding the official qualification. Have a look at it. I'm sure you could make it. If you'd like, I could help you with the studying part when I'm home for breaks, if you decide to go for it.

Timmy called yesterday. Don't know what to tell you, really… He seemed to be doing better but have plan B ready just in case. He didn't do anything, Billy. In fact he was just great. I broke up with him because I couldn't stop thinking about someone else, and it was not fair to Timmy.

Temptation… It would be so easy to fall into Bradley´s arms. He's great and such a good friend. But again, it wouldn't be fair for him. And spending so much time in such a small room doesn't help at all.

I remember all your girlfriends, and Lori and Jen were really great. And come to think of it, Alicia and Laura, too… You were quite popular, weren't you?

Please do not punch Jack if you run into him again. Not that he doesn't deserve it. Since you're asking, to make a long story short: all of a sudden he decided he had a lot of reasons to start having sex once I was back home. I had always told him that I was not ready, but he did something that actually scared me (please don't make me go into any detail here, I'm sure you can imagine it). Plus all those rumors about Molly Farlane, the rally girl, happened to be true. And please don't make repeat what he told me when I broke up with him…

Well, enough with my lame love life. I can't believe I'm telling you all this. What about you?

Take care,

Date: October 20th 2008 9:08 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi M,

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, it's been tough. Not going to meetings so far. That was plan B in case plan A failed. Didn't know it was a problem either until I found myself drinking 24/7. I'm just glad I noticed it. Your helping already, M. Knowing that your doing great at UT helps, and having you back in my life again helps, too.

About the official qualification, seems easier than I thought. Promise I'm gonna think about it.

Happy to know Timmy did nothing wrong. I do trust him, you know, but sometimes he's like his worst enemy… Hope "someone else" is not Jack after what you just told me about him. I'm sorry M, I knew he was quite a character, but I didn't know he was a jerk, to put it softly. I can imagine what your not telling me, and I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Let me just say I hope I won't run into him anytime soon.

I get what you say about temptation. But I'm sure Bradley wouldn't hurt you. Sorry, I'm not very good at giving advice about this… Which reminds me, I don't have love life at all. I suppose you know I broke up with Mindy months ago. I hurt her deeply and the idea of doing that to someone else again still haunts me, so I'm completely off the market since then. Not popular anymore. I can't believe I'm telling you all this either.

Go get them!

Take care M,

Date: October 20th 2008 8:02 pm

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Billy… I don't know what to say. I didn't know you were going through all this while I was home. I'm sorry. The truth is I was avoiding you since my dad had the stroke (for obvious reasons), and I regret it now. I really do. I should have been there for you Billy, I'm so sorry… And thank you for sharing it with me.

Please do think about the qualification, it'd be great for you to have it.

I know Bradley would never hurt me, but I'm afraid I could hurt him. That's why I'm trying hard to keep my distance, which is really difficult living together in such a small room (which seems smaller to me every passing day). I don't know, sometimes I feel so tired and so overwhelmed that a hug would be nice (I'm really considering deleting what I just wrote, - what are you gonna think about me?- but it's true).

Well, let's see if I can focus on our game this weekend.

Take care,

P.S. In case you run into Jack, you have my permission to do whatever you think he deserves.

Date: October 21st 2008 9:10 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi M!

What a relief to know you still want to know from me despite what I told you about myself. I guess it's not gold all that glitters, uh? and I was afraid you'd run once you've seen my real me… Thanks for sticking around.

You don't have to be sorry, M. You didn't know. For the record, I was avoiding you since that day, too. As you say, for obvious reasons. I'm sorry, M.

What would I think about you? You really doubt that? All good, for sure. And maybe that your human. You don't have to think bad about yourself for that, M, we all like a hug when we're feeling down. And a hug is just that, a hug, I'm sure Bradley would not be expecting something further.

Have a good week. Go get them!

Date: October 26th 2008 7:49 pm

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy!

So much to tell you! First of all, I still think that you are gold. So you don't have to worry about that. I'm sticking around. Forever. Gladly.

Annie is back! Right on time really because I had fallen sleep watching tv on Bradley's bed for the previous days and, frankly, I don't know where that could have ended (don't… don't say anything, please, I know I shouldn't have crossed that line). She came back two days ago after breaking up with John abruptly. They are not talking to each other now which makes everything weird. I miss Bradley and our rutine, despite knowing that he would definitely be expecting something further. Right before Annie's return, one night he came clean about his feelings (not that I didn´t know already, but it's much worse than I thought), and I'm doing my best not to let it change things between us. And the fact that Annie is depressed again is not helping, either. So, yeah, a great mess…

We won again! All matches. We're currently coleaders with Arizona State. Can you believe it? And I can't believe I played in UT lineup in all the events so far, recording 73.75 stroke average. Once more, thank you for all your help.

I was just on the phone with my dad and he mentioned that your garage is doing very well. So happy for you! And you keep visiting him every week. What can I say, Billy… thank you so much.

Take care,

Date: October 27th 2008 8:50 am

From: rigginsrigs

To: María McGill

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi M!

Congrats on the W! What a season, girl! 73.75 stroke average! And you've just gotten started.

Thank you, you know it goes both ways, right?

The shop is doing much better that expected. Hired Peter Hernandez part time for the paperwork (you know him, right?) and thinking bringing someone in also part time for the cars. Can you believe I'm about to have my own staff?

Of course I keep visiting your dad. Know he's recovered completely, but I like his company. And he won't tell you but he misses you, M, greatly (don't tell him I told you, Ok?). So we have a weekly rutine now, an evening of old football tapes on Thursdays. Your mom always makes me stay for dinner, really appreciate it.

Don't tell him, but I do miss Timmy, a lot. I guess it's been just the two of us for so long that I really miss him. But knowing he's in college makes things easier.

I'm sorry to hear about Annie and John. Aint gonna say anything about you falling sleep on Bradley's bed because there's nothing to say, don't think you crossed any line. Stop worrying. Have you talked to him about it?

Are you coming home for Thanksgiving? It's only four weeks. Timmy is coming, and seems to be doing well.

Take care M, and enjoy every moment,

Date: November 2nd 2008 10:26 am

From: María McGill

To: rigginsrigs

Subject: Re: Hey!

Hi Billy!

Finally a day off and a chance to write to you.

Well, good thing that we have today off because I have a heavy cold. All my muscles ache and I feel exhausted. Bradley is taking good care of me with medicines and tons of soup. Yes, because he's back in my room again. John and Annie are back together again (don't ask me how because they grew from not talking to each other to making out in the middle of the hallway in one minute). To be honest, I don't know how I feel about it. I like Annie very much but I really missed Bradley when she came back. And I am a little bit confused about that.

No, I haven't talked to him about all this. I'm afraid things between us may change if we open that can of worms, but the truth is that he did open it that night I told you about, so I may as well close it again. I know I'm being selfish, but I'm terrified I could lose him as a friend. Why is this so complicated?

That's great about the shop! Congrats Billy! Or should I say "boss"? How does it feel to have your own staff, besides a lot of responsibility, I guess?

I know about those football evenings with my dad. You know he cherishes them, don't you? Thank you again.

I'm coming home for Thanksgiving. It's just before the finals but I want to be home. I think I need it. Hope to see you during those days.

Take care,

P.S.- I totally understand you miss Timmy. I miss him too, and I haven't been living with him.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, NOV 2 2008, 7:06 P.M.: Hi M! Hope u r feeling better. Great 2 know u r coming home 4 Thxsgv. Looking forward 2 it. Take care.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, NOV 2 2008, 7:09 P.M.: Hi Billy! Feeling much better, thanks. Think I'll be able 2 make it 2 practice and classes tomorrow. Definitely see u 4 Thxsgv. Take care,

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, NOV 10 2008, 7:55 A.M.: Hi Billy! Just a quick text 2 let u know I've not forgotten about u. Trying 2 study in advance for the finals, and with classes, practice and games barely have any free time. Hope u r doing well. I do miss our emails, hope 2 be able 2 resume them soon. Take care.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, NOV 10 2008, 8:01 A.M.: Hi M! Please don't worry, know u r busy. Thxs 4 texting. Everything's good. We'll have plenty of time 2 catch up on Thanksgiving. Go get them! Take care.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, NOV 10 2008, 8:03 A.M.: Thxs Billy.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, NOV 16 2008, 10:09 P.M.: Hi M! Know it's late, just checking in. Spoke 2 Timmy today, he said u r helping him with calls and advice, seemed happier. Don't know how 2 thank u. Take care.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, NOV 16 2008, 10:16 P.M.: Hi Billy! Everything's good, thank u. And hectic. Anytime, u know that. I wish I had time 2 resume writing to u, I miss it. Hope u r well. Only 11 days 2 Thanksgiving (who's counting?). Take care.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, NOV 16 2008, 10:19 P.M.: Everything's good, M. Miss ur emails too. But you stay focused there, ok? Looking forward 2 Thanksgiving. Go get them? Take care.

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM M MCGILL, NOV 20 2008, 07:12 A.M.: Good morning Billy! Just checking in. I can't believe this time next week I'll be coming home. Mom told me u r also going 2 the Taylors'. That's great! See u there. Take care,

NEW TEXT MESSAGE FROM BILLY RIGGINS, NOV 20 2008, 07:15 P.M.: Morning, M! Everything's good here, hope u r, too. U r right, Mrs T invited us for Thanksgiving. It'll be great! Take care,

The last weeks before Thanksgiving had been highly stressful for María, playing in Oklahoma again and trying to study ahead for the finals while working hard to keep her spot on the first team. She did not want to acknowledge it, yet the double major in Business and Psychology was beginning to look as an unattainable dream.

Finally it was time to go home for Thanksgiving. Bradley was going to his grandparents in Houston and Tyra was staying in Austin to prepare her finals (that was what she said, anyway), so María was flying home. She had considered taking the bus but there was no way she could make it for lunch at the Taylors' if she did so.

After a very early start she noticed that her 6:49 am flight to Midland via Dallas was delayed as soon as she arrived to the airport. Hoping that it would not be too long, she went throught security and sat down at her gate, thankful that she had brought her Accounting notes with her. Over an hour and fifty three pages later, her flight was finally rescheduled for 10:15 am. María sighed, and texted her mother telling her that she would be late for lunch, and that she would text again when actually boarding the plane to let her know her estimated time of arrival. Sue was driving to Midland to pick María up and there was no point in being at the airport for hours when she could be at the Taylors' instead.

The waiting seemed to go on forever but at last it was time to board. Maria texted Sue and she tried to relax once she sat on the plane. She was actually looking forward to going home and the delay had somehow frustrated her. She would be coming back to Austin on Sunday, and she could guess that the following weeks until Christmas would be hard, with finals and some of the most difficult matches of the season, and the last thing she wanted was to waste some of her Thanksgiving break in an airport waiting room, instead of being with her parents or her friends. She had not seen them for over three months and she had been too busy and too worried about college to notice it until then, but she had really missed them.

As María came out through the arrivals gate of Midland Airport, looking around for her mother, she was astonished to find Tim walking towards her, big smile on his face. He was gorgeous, as usual, in jeans and a white button shirt that seemed brand new, and completely oblivious to the attention he was gathering. Amused, she noticed that most of the women and girls in the airport were turning around as he passed by them on his way to where she was.

"Hi Mars, welcome home," he said when he reached her, briefly hugging her.

"Hi. Thank you, Timmy. What are….how come you're here?" she asked, also hugging him and stepping back locking eyes with him.

"What? No kiss this time?" he muttered and she playfully smacked his arm. "Your mom wanted to help Mrs. T with the meal, and she was not happy about your dad coming on his own. So I volunteered… hope you don't mind…"

"What? No, not at all… I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I'm happy to see you. It's just I didn't expect you to be here… And you're gonna miss the whole meal…." she said while they started walking towards the parking.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll spare us a plate…"

Once they hopped in Tim's truck they kept on talking, and by the time they arrived at the Taylors' they had very much brought each other up to date on what was going on on their lives. Tim told her that he was somehow happier in San Antonio State, although he knew that was not his place. He was not interested in classes at all and he was not getting much time to play football. He had curfew almost every night and he felt like if he was in jail. He was just trying to finish up the two first semesters while making up his mind about what he wanted to do, as he knew it would be a great disappointment to Billy if he dropped out. And he also told her that Lyla and he had broken up after spending fall break together.

For her part, María told him she was about to give up her dream of a double major, out of fear and exhaustion, but not until speaking to Mrs Taylor first, and that surprisingly she was still on the first team playing the lineup in all events. She also shared with him her concern about Bradley, and how they were struggling to pretend that it had never happened after she had learned about his true feelings for her while they were living in the same dorm room. And she mentioned that she was happy that Billy was in her life again, as they had been emailing and texting each other since September.

Tim felt relieved when he parked his truck outside the Taylors' just after that. He did not know how to react anymore every time Billy or María mentioned each other while talking to him. He was well aware that they were close again (at least, as close friends as you can be living hundreds of miles away), and sometimes he felt that all they needed to be together was a just little push. But enlightening them about their mutual feelings was much more than a little push, and he was trying to navigate the situation by being on the sidelines, which he found very difficult to do. They were, after all, his brother and one of his best friends (definitely, his best female friend).

A smiling Julie opened the door for them and suddenly everybody stopped watching football and came to greet María: her parents, who hugged her for quite a long time, Tami, Eric, Matt,… even Buddy Garrity. And then, finally, Billy. He was the last one on the welcome line, and gently embraced her when she was done with everybody else.

"Hi M, great to see you," he said next to her ear while holding her. "You too, Billy," she managed to mumble while she stepped back trying to ignore the effect his aftershave scent was having on her. At this stage and after months of emails and texts, she thought she could share anything with him, but she had underestimated the way she would feel talking to him in person. She was then realizing it might be difficult to hide her true feelings for him in his presence. Because just ten seconds near him had proved her that there was no point in denying it, those feelings were still there despite her hard efforts to forget him, the physical distance and their recent epistolary relationship.

While María and Tim sat on the table to eat and Mac and Sue sat down with them resolved not to waste a single minute their daughter was in Dillon, the rest gathered around the television once more. When they finished eating they took their plates and moved over to the sink, washing and drying them.

"Honey, you don't have to do that," Tami told her when she came into the kitchen to get some drinks, once Tim had joined the men watching football.

"It's okay, Tami, the least I can do after being late. Again, I'm sorry," she said smiling.

"You don't have to apologise, María. I'm glad you could make it for Thanksgiving, your mom wasn't sure you'd be able to come. We are all so happy to have you here… " she hugged María while saying so. "Oh, we're running short out of ice…" she muttered double checking the freezer after letting her go.

"I can go get some, if you want…" María softly offered. She had just been in the Taylor household for little over half an hour, but it had been enough time to notice that Tami was quite busy being the perfect host. Apparently she did it effortlessly, but María knew for a fact that she always did her best to make their guests at home. She was glad if she could help Tami with the ice.

"You sure, María? You just arrived, must be tired, and it may take you a while to find an open place today at this time…" Tami hesitated.

"Yes, positive. It'll give me a chance to drive through Dillon, I kind of missed it, both driving and Dillon… Funny, isn't it?" María cheerfully asked.

Tami knew exactly what she meant. Most former High Dillon students usually told her that they never thought they would miss their small town until they actually left for college, even the ones who were looking forward to going away thinking they that would never look back. "No, I get it, María. Well, thank you then. Get some money from the first drawer there…"

"No, it's okay Tami… I'll be quick…" she said asking her mother for their car keys and exiting the front door. As she did so, she noticed that her parents' car was blocked by some other vehicles. Mac and Sue had been the first ones to arrive and the rest of the guests had parked just behind them. Even Tim's truck was now blocked by a van she could not identify. "It must be some guest from next door," María thought noticing that a few cars were also parked next door, even on the lawn.

Yet she could perfectly identify a truck parked on the curb just across the street, free from any blocking. It was Billy's. Instead of thinking "Great, now I have to go and borrow his truck", which no doubt she would have thought before going to college, she was glad to have an excuse to talk to him. Not that she needed an excuse, but the house was crowded and she could guess that otherwise they would not have a chance to talk during the rest of the day. And the fact that she was eager to talk to Billy instead of trying to avoid him did not go unnoticed by her.

She went into the house again without delay and found him sitting on the couch next to Coach Taylor and Tim, watching football. She squatted down beside him and addressed him in a soft voice so the rest could still hear the sports commentator on television.

"Hey Billy, sorry to interrupt, I'm gonna get some ice and your truck is the only one that's not blocked outside. Could I please borrow it? I'll be carefull, I promise…" she said placing both her hands on the arm of the couch for balance.

Billy had turned his head towards her the moment María had started talking, keeping his gaze on her.

"Sure. You like some company?" he hopefully asked. Of course he loved football, and even more watching it with his brother, Coach Taylor and Coach McGill, but he was really looking forward to spending some time with María after these months of emails and texts. He was not planning on telling her about his feelings; on the contrary, he was still sure she did not reciprocate them, and he did not want to risk their renewed friendship, but catching up would be nice. And they were not likely to do that any time soon surrounded by all the people gathered there for Thanksgiving.

"Of course," she said trying to hide her surprise while standing again and turning to her mother to give her keys back. This was far better than just asking him for his truck. "Mom, our car's blocked, I'm going with Billy," she told her mother and then began to walk by his side down the hall to the main door, while Tami and Tim stared at their retreating forms from the living room.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own Friday Night Lights, or any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OCs.

As they were crossing the street it suddenly occurred to Billy that María might be thinking that he did not trust her to drive his truck. Concerned, he softly took her arm and dragged her towards the driver's door. "Hope you don't think I don't trust you to drive, 'cause I do. You're driving," he said placing his keys in her hand and walking around the pick-up to the passenger door.

"Okay, but no need, I'd never think that…" she managed to say looking at the keys and then at him before hopping in.

"Come on, M, I bet you still like driving, and I'm guessing you haven't for a long time… " Billy had been the one who had taught her the basics of driving the summer before going to Florida. María was just fourteen and her parents had refused to let her touch their car before she was fifteen. She had then asked Billy, and she had insisted so much on it that he had ended up taking her to a huge undeveloped plot owned by the company he was working for at the time, despite fearing Mac's reaction if he found out. After a few afternoons there, she was able to drive quite well, and Mac and Sue were truly surprised to see how she drove when she came home on school break after turning fifteen and they let her take their car to get ready for her licence test. They never dared to ask her why there was almost nothing driving related that they could possibly teach her.

"You're right, thanks Billy." Thinking that he was probably one of the people who knew her best, María smiled and started the engine.

Tami had been right and it took them more than half an hour to find ice. It was Thanksgiving after all. By the time they found it they had gone over all the topics they had been writing about for months, and they were both secretly happy to see that they were able to address all of them naturally, even the ones related to Bradley and Mindy, after the awkwardness they had felt when they had first seen each other earlier in the day. As it had not just been María. After waiting for her impatiently since lunch time, Billy had felt butterflies in his stomach when he had heard Julie welcoming María, and when he had finally recovered from that sensation everybody was already gathered around her, making him be the last one to greet her. Their ride for ice had made him realize that the emails and texts had not been an illusion, that they were close friends again, and he was genuinely happy because he really thought that that was all he could hope for.

But that quiet ride through Dillon in good company was having a complete different effect on María. In fact, things were flowing so easily between them that she thought that it was the perfect atmosphere to ask him the question that had been lingering in her mind since Bradley had asked her that very same thing in that cozy diner right off the highway, when they were headed for college back in August. Months ago she would have abandoned the idea right away, thinking it was crazy, but it was sticking now. "Why not? It's not gonna be weird now, and if I don't ask I'll never know." It just rushed her mind and she acted on it without a second thought.

She had just parked the truck and turned off the engine and he was about to open his door. "Wait up, Billy," María said resting her hand on his left arm. Billy turned around and gazed at her questioningly.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked removing her hand from his forearm and placing it on the wheel, strongly gripping it.

"Shoot!" he answered smiling. Never in a millon years would he have guessed what she was going to say.

"Why did you kiss me back at the hospital that day?" María was surprised to find that her voice had come out steady and clear given the nature of the question, and quietly waited for his response holding his gaze, both her hands on the wheel.

He sighed. "M, I thought we were past that…" he said scratching the back of his neck. Not for the first time, she noticed his resemblance to his brother, as that gesture was exactly the same one Tim usually did when he was nervous. "Maybe it's gonna be weird…"

She tried to play it down. "Yeah, of course we are. But it's just, I mean, I did kiss you first, but you didn't have to kiss me back. Why'd you do it?" she insisted finally releasing the wheel and slightly shifting on the seat to face him. She felt that once she had asked, she could not backpedal.

Meanwhile, Billy's mind was spinning trying to decide how to address that question. It had caught him completely off guard, and he did not want to lie, but did not want to let her know how he really felt, either, now that she was back in his life as a friend. Not wanting to jeopardize her friendship, he came up with the best he could think of. "M, that was a horrible day…"

"I know, I was there, remember? I'm just curious… was it pity?" María softly asked. Since Bradley had brought that same question up it had bother her that Billy could have kissed her back for pity. Just the thought of it hurt as much as his subsequent apologies had hurt her thar afternoon at the range, but it did make sense. In fact, it was the only reason she could think of, because any romantic feeling related to it was out of the question for her.

"What?" he mumbled frowning and shaking his head. He never expected she would think that.

"Was it pity?" María asked again, words coming out slowly, keeping her intense glare on him.

"M…." he sighed, briefly diverting his gaze out of the passenger door window and then locking eyes with her again. He was not very good at reading people but definitely he could sense she was on a mission for answers and he did not know how to cope with it.

Seeing that he was failing to respond her, María totally misread him, and she tried to reassure him. "No, it's all right. I mean, I won't be mad if it was pity…"

Billy did not know the reason, but letting her think that was making him sick. He felt it was much worse that sharing the feelings he really harbored for her. "M, of course it was not pity…" he said trying to buy some time to think about the best way to answer her question while clarifying that definitely it had not been pity.

"Well, what was it then?" Her eyes were wide open, and she was now fully regretting having asked him in the first place. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea… Why is he so reluctant to talk about this?"

With her new request Billy felt there was no way out. He had to come clean about it, no matter the consecuences. There was no other option as her body language confirmed that she was not going to drop it. He sighed again. "You really wanna know?" he softly whispered diverting his gaze to her hand and grabbing it.

María looked down to their joined hands and gulped. Was there a chance he felt something beyond friendship for her? Had Bradley been right? She raised her eyes to him again. "Yeah…"

He shifted on his seat getting closer to her. "You know that after I say what I'm about to say there's no going back, right?" he mumbled letting her hand go and framing her face with both hands.

She nodded, and placed her right hand on his chest. "I know, but you don't have to say anything if you don't want to…", she said trying to give him an out in case he was saying and doing all this only to make her feel better.

"I guess you didn't kiss me that day just because you were scared…" he said while caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.

"No…" María whispered not breaking eye contact with him, waiting for his next move. Billy slowly leant in and gently kissed her. With no hesitation, she wrapped her arms and kissed him back, holding him close, and he responded trailing one hand around to the small of her back pulling her closer, until both of them broke the kiss gasping for air. They remained like that, his arms around her waist and her hands caressing his neck, their eyes shut and their foreheads touching.

After a few seconds she chuckled and opened her eyes. "I didn't know you felt the same way…"

He opened his eyes too. "That makes two of us," he muttered, and started kissing her again.

Those were the first ones of the many kisses María and Billy shared during her Thanksgiving break. He had to work at the shop and at the range but they managed to spend together all his spare time without letting anyone know about what was going on between them, until Saturday night when Billy could not hide it from Tim anymore. Resolved to enjoy their time together, they both tried not to think about what they were doing. María avoided the little voice in her head that claimed that it would turn out being just a fling as there was no way they could do the long distance relationship thing, and Billy did her best to forget about the facts that they lived hundreds of miles away, that she had a tight schedule with golf and college, and, first and foremost, that he had very little to offer her and he might end up hurting her like he had hurt Mindy. Somehow, they succeeded in keeping their worst fears at bay and really enjoyed their time together.

Yet time flew and on Sunday after church María asked Tami if she had a moment to talk.

"Sure, honey. Just let me tell Eric." After telling her husband she was going to stay a little bit longer, she joined María and they sat on a bench in the small church garden.

"So, looking forward to going back to college?" Tami asked. It was a sunny November day and she was taking her sunglasses out of her purse.

"To be honest, no, not really." María sighed, wishing she had her sunglasses with her.

"How come?" It was difficult for Tami to believe María did not like college, as she thought she was the perfect student.

"Where do I start?" Whereas María had been willing to talk to Tami about the double major for months now, her thoughts about it had changed in the light of the events of the last days, and she wanted to share that, too. "The last weeks before coming home were exhausting, and not just for golf. I've been seriously considering a doble major in Business and Psycology. You know, all those books you lent me while I was living with you…" María trailed off.

Tami then recalled that particular time when Mac was critical at hospital. "Yeah, I remember, you became really passionate about it. And some of the last books you read were quite advanced. But I didn't know you were considering actually studying it, honey. Honestly, I thought you were just trying to keep your mind off your dad's condition at the time…"

María chuckled. "I didn't know, either, until I went to college and realized I wasn't really interested in Business."

When she heard that, Tami took off her sunglasses and looked closely at María, who did her best to explain herself. "Frankly, I was never interested in it in the first place, golf has always been my number one goal and Business was just the most useful college major I could think of if plan A didn't work, or even for my after golf pro life, if I ever make it. I had everything figured out, you know?" It still amazed her how easy it was to talk to Tami, no wonder she was great at her job.

"I sense there's a but here…"

"Yeah… But once in UT I started to think I would be wasting the chance to get an education in what I really like. That I should try and find all this endeavor somehow rewarding. Of course Business will be very useful once out of college, but I guess the real question here is, do you think I can make it, Tami, double major? You've been in college and you know how it is."

Tami smiled. After all these months that combination of self-awareness and emotional confusion in María still surprised her. She would rarely show it and Tami was proud that María confided in her. She just needed a little bit reassurance from someone she trusted, and Tami was happy to provide it. "María, you're a straight A student, if any can double major, that's you honey! I'm sure you can do it. I know it'll be hard sometimes with golf, and long distance trips on the weekends, but I wouldn't give up the idea just yet, if that's what you want. You live right on campus and you've been never afraid of studying. I really think you could do it."

"And do you think I could be in a long distance relationship while doing it?" María bluntly asked, knowing that she would have to elaborate.

Tami blinked. She was not aware of any relationship, much less long distance. "Long distance relationship… I didn't know you were dating anybody, María…"

"No, it's just… Billy and I have been spending time together lately…" She was smiling brightly as his name popped up.

"Oh, have you?" Tami then remembered seeing them watching football together on Thanksgiving, and thinking right then that there was something different in the way they looked at each other. And Julie had mentioned that she wished she had seen more of María during the break, as they had just met for a quick lunch on Friday because María already had plans for the evenings. It all made sense now.

María nodded. "Yeah, since we went ice hunting on Thanksgiving. I'll be forever grateful to you for that, by the way…" she chuckled.

Tami had not seen her smile like that in a very long time, with a special glint in her eyes. "Wow, María, I can see you're really happy about that, I'm glad…" she said placing her arm over María's shoulders and affectionately bringing her close.

"I am. Please don't tell my parents. It's brand new and I really don't know what we're going to do after today. I mean, do you believe in the long distance whole thing?" The little voice in her head that claimed that there was no way they could do the long distance relationship thing and it would end up being just a fling was turning increasingly insistent as the time to leave for Austin approached.

"I´m not gonna lie to you, María, not everyone's cut out for that, and I don't know Billy that much… But, if y'all are committed to it, I do. Don't you?" Tami knew first-hand it was hard, but certainly there were people who made it work with high doses of trust, communication and patience. And, of course, love.

María sighed and looked around before fixing her gaze on Tami again. "Frankly, Tami, I wasn't expecting this, it's been a huge surprise, and probably the best three days of my life. And I'm all in, but I don't know if he'd be willing to do it. I mean, he's 26, I'm still 18, and I have nearly four more years of college ahead of me,… He's taking me to the airport today and we'll talk then. And if I had my doubts about double majoring before this break, now I think that making it work with Billy long distance might rank first, you know?" She was shocked to realize she was prepared to prioritize Billy over a double major, and as soon as she voiced out that thought a new idea rushed her mind. "I'd give up almost everything for him," and her heart skipped a beat at the realization. After all, they had just been together, if you could call it that, for less than three days.

Tami sensed her concern. "I don't think a long distance relationship would stand in the way of your double major. Unfortunately, it's not likely y'all will be seeing each other often, so you may as well get the best out of it. To put it bluntly, you're not gonna see Billy even less for double majoring, are you?" If María was going to pursue them both, the long distance relationship and the double major, she had to know in advance what they entailed.

María hesitated before answering. "I guess not… It won't make much of a difference, really… Maybe some summer classes, if I have to…" The truth was they would see each other very seldom, as they would both be busy during the weekends, María with golf and Billy working at the range. Probably they would just be together on college breaks, and she could very well use her time apart from him to double major.

Seeing that María understood what she meant, Tami nodded. "Well, I guess that answers your question. And I really think you can double major in anything you want, María. Absolutely."

María sighed again. "Yeah, I guess it does. Thanks, Tami."

"Anytime, María, but I think you already knew what you could expect from a double major and a long distance relationship," Tami said trying to reassure her again.

María shook her head. "No, seriously, thanks. For everything, and for not telling my parents about our talks. I know that's a lot to ask and you've always kept it between us." She looked at her watch. "We should be going home, I don't want you to be late for lunch, Tami," she said getting up from the bench. She knew Tami cherished her family time and she did not want to keep her away from it.

"No, it's okay, really, I'm glad we finally had a chance to talk. Keep me updated about everything, will you María?" Tami asked as she hugged her.

María's last hours at home flew by and Billy picked her up after lunch to take her to Midland airport. No public display of affection was shown at all and Mac and Sue were totally oblivious to their new status. Only Tami and Tim were aware of it. Billy had told his little brother on Saturday night, when he had arrived home late after having spent all evening and part of the night with María. It was not a big surprise for Tim, as he had suspected it from the moment he saw them arrive to the Taylors' more than two hours after they had left for ice, a special light in their eyes. And he had found María truly happy on Friday and Santurday morning, when they had gone for a run together and had met for breakfast afterwards. He knew Billy and María were close again and it did not take him very long to put two and two together.

María had been really tempted to tell Tim right then, after all he was one of her best friends, but she had thought that it was still too soon and she didn't even know where it was headed. There would be plenty of time to share it with him if it eventually worked out. And Tim had been also highly tempted to ask her, but he had considered that if there was finally something going on between them they probably needed some time to figure things out.

Billy had also thought that it was still premature but the moment he got home and saw Tim sprawled on the couch watching tv, he felt the need to share it with him, not only how happy he was, but also his strong concerns about it. Truly glad about the fact that they had at last found their way together, Tim tried to reassure him. "Take a breath, man. It's Mars, she knows you as well as I do, and she's been in love with you for years, so no worries."

Overlooking the fact that Tim had known that María had been in love with him for years, which was news to Billy, he insisted on his worst fear. "But what if I end up hurting her, Timmy…" His brother looked at him with a blank expression on his face. If there was anything Tim had learnt about love was that it had a strong tendency to hurt, but he did not want to scare Billy any more, he was worried enough as it was. So "Just try not to screw it up, Billy," was the most encouraging line he could think of at the time.

On this occasion there was no angst when María hugged her parents goodbye in their driveway. She was already settled at college and she would be coming home for Christmas in less than four weeks, so as soon as she hopped in Billy's truck all she could think of was that she had nearly three hours to spend with Billy alone until boarding her flight. And she intended to make the best out of it.

After a quite ride to the airport, Billy parked his truck and squeezed her hand letting it go as he softly spoke.

"It's early, wanna grab something to eat?"

"No, you mind if we stay here instead? Don't wanna talk surrounded by a bunch of strangers…" she said unbuckling her seatbelt.

Billy's stomach dropped when he heard her say that. What was she going to say? What would she want to do? Sure he felt he was not good enough for her, and that thought had been at the back of his mind since he had first kissed her on Thanksgiving, but breaking it off was just unthinkable for him.

"Sure…" he said also unbuckling and moving closer to her while reaching under his seat to spring it back. When he did so María scooted over and he helped her sit on his lap, her back resting against the driver's door. Not for the first time during the last days he wished he still had his old truck, very similar to the one Tim had, with bench seats. Since Thanksgiving they had spent most of their time together in his truck and the cramped back seat of the extended cab was not an option, not with her. Billy had never expected to miss his beaten high school pick-up at twenty-six.

She hid her face on his shoulder and he hugged her, gently stroking her hair. "I guess that's it then, Sunday afternoon has finally arrived…" she mumbled, her voice muffled against the fabric of his white t-shirt.

"Yeah, fast, uh?" he said gently turning the back of her head to lock eyes with her.

She nodded keeping his gaze. "Yeah, I wish I could stay here…"

Billy sat up straight, moving her with him so they were face to face, and cupped her face with both hands. "M, don't say that, college is waiting for you and you're gonna do great things there. And you're coming home for Christmas…"

"I know, but I won't see you until then and… what's gonna happen to us, Billy? I mean, you live here, you have two jobs, I'm in college nearly five hours away, I've golf on the weekends, it's not like we are going to see each other often… What… what do you wanna do?" she asked trying to give him a way out in case he was not willing to do the long distance thing, her right hand on his chest.

He felt relieved that apparently breaking up was not her first option. It was time to lay the cards on the table. "M, what kind of question is that? What I want? See you as much as possible, I guess…" he answered, taking her free hand in his.

"Really?" she whispered leaning in and gently kissing him. What started like a sweet kiss soon became a hungry one, and María pulled back to straddle Billy, her legs on each side of his body on the edges of the seat, her arms gripping his shoulders for balance, and resumed kissing him.

"M,… most important thing… what do you want?" he managed to ask between kisses.

She leant back and rested her back on the wheel. She took both his hands in hers and smiled at him. "You… even if it's only emails, texts and phone calls most of the time…"

Her response made him want to jump for joy. "So you're in, then? I thought you wanted to break it off for a moment back there…" he sought for reassurance wrapping his arms around her waist, while she leant her body against his and placed her hands on the back of his neck, tilting her head back to keep eye contact with him.

"No, I'm all in. Do you think it'll work, Billy? The long distance thing?" she hopefully asked.

"Don't know M, never met anyone who made it work." His tone was sad as he said it. His hands were now under the hem of her shirt, caressing her back. The feeling of his hands over her soft skin was sending shivers down her spine, and she tried to focus on their conversation.

He noticed the frown on her face and thought he had been too blunt. "Hey, it's all right, doesn't mean we can. I mean, we've come this far, what were the odds? Why not make it work? It's you and me, M…" he trailed off hastily, while María's mind was trying to address all the cons a relationship like that might involve for someone like Billy.

"I know, I'm not worried about that, but what about…." she said grabbing his hands to prevent them to keep caressing her back.

"What?" he anxiously asked. He was beginning to regret his words about long distance relationships. He had blurted it out without thinking and maybe that was not what María needed to hear in that very moment. Definitely he had to be more carefull and less impulsive, he told himself for the millionth time since he had started turning around his life.

But María was not currently worried about that. She knew they did have a difficult and long road ahead of them if they were pursuing a long distance relationship. Billy had just stated the obvious. No, right then she had another concern as the effect of his hand on her skin had reminded her of a particular matter. "Sex," she replied. "How do you feel about having sex just on breaks?"

He chuckled while he resumed caressing the skin on her back. During the time they had spent together María had shared with him that she had no experience at all in that department, as she had always thought that she was not ready until her relationship with Tim had unexpectedly made her change her mind about it. She had told Billy that she had considered having sex with Tim during the last days they were together, but he had been stopping her every time things got heated between them and they had broken up right after that. Billy had tried to show her that there was no need to rush it by keeping things low-key during the weekend. He had been then shocked to realize that the lack of sex did not bother him at all, whereas a few months back he could not have imagined a sexless romantic relationship. Not in vain he had to go as far back as the beginning of his freshmen year in High School to trace back his last one of the kind.

But now all of a sudden María was taking sex for granted in the short term. "I didn't know we're having sex…" he joked.

She playfully smacked his arm. "Don't joke with that, Billy…" She was feeling a fierce blush creeping up her cheeks and she tried to hide her face on his chest.

"M, not joking, thought you weren't ready and I'm okay with that…" he whispered on her ear. She then raised her head and looked at him tugging on his t-shirt. "With you, I am," she simply stated.

"No, …" he shook his head.

"No, what?" she frowned.

"Not yet, don't want you rush into it," he strongly declared.

She smiled. "Thanks but I mean it, Billy. I'm ready with you. What about Christmas? It wouldn't be rushing into it, right?" she said giving him a wink.

"Right!" he whispered kissing her again. He had discovered this half playful, half teasing side of her during the last days and it was driving him crazy.

"But I wanna talk to my mom first…" she mumbled breaking the kiss, raising her eyebrow in anticipation of what she was certain his next words would be.

"What?... Why?" he panicked.

She chuckled leaning on the wheel again. "It's okay, Billy, I'll just ask her for a pill prescription, don't want to go behind her back."

"Okay, smart girl, but there's a lot of stuff we can do without needing the pill just yet. I bet you don't wanna go from nothing to everything in no time…" he tried to sound calm, but the mere mention of Sue and the pill was making him nervous, and María noticed it.

Blushing again, and trying to turn her thoughts from all that "stuff" that he had mentioned they could do, she framed his face with her hands and smiled. "Hey, you told me you wanted you talk to my dad. What's the difference?" Despite not knowing where they were headed, the day before Billy had asked her permission to talk to her father as he did not want Mac to find out from somewhere else. He knew she was the one supposed to tell her parents, but he really could not think about not telling Mac himself given the bond they shared. She was Mac's daughter and Billy felt he would not be able to look him in the eye otherwise. And María had agreed. "Okay, next time I'm home you'll tell dad and I'll tell mom," she had said matter-of-factly, taking it for granted that they would be together, and inadvertently reassuring both of them about their incipient relationship.

Billy sighed and took her hands in his. "M, I'm gonna talk to your dad out of respect. I wanna let him know I'm serious about you, my intentions are good. I'm not telling him you're gonna have sex…" he said going from a solemn face to a wide smirk and a wink as he was mentioning the word "sex".

"Don't you think he'll suspect it? Even if there's no need for the pill just yet?" she teasingly asked. But there was something in the way Billy was talking about her dad that intrigued her, and she tried to play it down... "Okay, okay, I get it. Are you worried about telling him?"

"Yeah…" he said briefly diverting his gaze from her eyes.

"Why?" she inquired, leaning in and hugging him tightly in an effort to calm him. Little did she know that her body pressed against his was having the exact opposite effect on him.

He tried to focus on an eventual conversation with Mac and softly placed his hands on her waist and held her slightly backwards, just enough to be eye level with her. "M, one thing's being football buddies, one of his former players, and a totally different one's dating his golden daughter. I'm sure I'm way far from what he expected for you…"

There it was again. That feeling of not living up to the expectations, very much like the one she had worked so hard to banish from Tim's mind during their senior year. Sometimes they were very much alike. "Hey, Billy, don't say that…" It was a side of him that was new to her, and she found it to be touching in an adult. She noticed it also made him even more loveable, if that was possible.

"It's true… He knows me well, M, and he knew my parents…" he explained, looking down.

She reached for his chin and made him look at her again. She was well aware that it was a touchy subject for him but it was not his fault that his parents were the way they were. "Your parents don't define you at all, Billy…"

"I was engaged six months ago, M… And I've done a lot of things in my life that I'm not proud of. Hell, your dad bailed me out once," he said locking eyes with her again, bracing himself for the inevitable fallout that that revelation could certainly have on María.

But no trace of disappointment or rejection could be seen on her face. On the contrary, she was smiling warmly. "I didn't know that. Did he?"

He gulped and nodded. "He did. You gonna ask what I did?" Besides a drunk and disorderly, he had two petty theft convictions in his record, and it had been Mac who had bailed him out the second time in the absence of his parents. Billy would never forget the chat he had with him inside Mac's old sedan once they left Carr County Court. As a result of it, he never dared to break the law again.

María shook her head. "No, that's water under the bridge, not gonna make me think of you any differently."

"God, I love you…." he blurted out hugging her and froze as soon as he heard himself saying those words. He had fantasized many times about saying them to María, and he was planning on something romantic in the event that they would be still together when the break was over. In any case, he had never intended to say it like that, much less while talking about his past conflicts with the law. "How can I be so hot-headed?"

He broke the embrace and looked at her. "M, I didn't mean to say it like that, but it's true, I…"

She did not let him finish his sentence and leant in and softly kissed him, whispering "I love you too, Billy."

Thinking that he truly was a lucky guy and that he did not deserve her, he noticed the time on his truck dashboard clock and softly patted her but. "Come on, M, let's go, time to go back to Austin."

"Just a minute, Billy. I want you to have this back," she said. Still straddling him, she reached for her jeans pocket, pulling his State ring out, and quickly putting it on his finger before he could object. "Remember what you said when you gave it to me?"

"Sure…" But the truth was that he had been so desperate that day that it was all kind of blurred. He remembered going to the range and waiting for her at lunch time, but not a single word he had pronounced while he was doing his best to hide his feelings for her… What he did recall vividly was her confused face when he put the ring in her hand, and him almost begging her to keep it.

"Well, it worked so far. It brought me here. And I want you to have it now, please," she said keeping her hands on his.

"No, you keep it M…" he said trying to pull it off.

She squeezed his hands to stop him. "No, I know you cherish it, please keep it, Billy. Please?" she pleaded.

Finding it difficult not to oblige her request, he nodded. "Okay, thank you M."

María smiled, thinking that she still had his hoodie in Austin. "Anytime. I also have your State hoodie, you gave it to me while we were in that horrible hospital waiting room, remember?"

He chuckled. "How I could forget about it, turned this thing upside down to try find something warm for you while I waited for your mom here… I knew you'd be cold in your running gear…"

"Thanks," she whispered before softly kissing his cheek. "Would you mind if I keep it?"

"No, you keep it. You like it, uh? You've always liked it…" he said remembering María proudly wearing it when most of the players, coaches, family and friends gathered at Mac´s for a barbeque after the big parade when they won State in his senior year in High School. Despite being tall for her age, the hoodie covered her knees completely and the sleeves were ridiculously long for her arms, but she kept it on all evening anyway.

"Still do, you've no idea…" she chuckled. "If I tell you something, you promise not to laugh?"

"Promise…"

She leant in again and began placing a trail of soft kisses on his neck up to his jaw while she started talking, his hands slowy moving from her sides to the small of her back, under her shirt. "I never thought I'd tell you this…, but I have been sleeping… with your hoodie… under my pillow… since college started… Your scent's on it…" When she reached his mounth she stopped kissing and just locked eyes with him. She sighed. "Sometimes I even put it on to try and feel you closer during the night, but I quitted doing that because I was afraid your scent would fade…"

He smiled. Vivid images of María sleeping in his hoodie, nothing else on, started to blur his mind. It was exactly the kind of thought he had been trying to avoid all weekend. He cleared his throat. "I guess I should wear it again sometime, then," he whispered winking.

"Please, you do that…" she begged as she leant in once more for another kiss. This time she made sure to let him know what she wanted, and he deepened the kiss accordingly, holding her by her waist and her head and pressing her body to his. She clung to the back of his neck and eagerly responded until Billy suddenly found himself opening the top buttons of her shirt, her cleavage and most of her bra on full display.

He broke the kiss growling and started doing her buttons up, both of them trying to catch their breath. "Come on, María, we're in public and in broad daylight… You'll end up missing your flight, let's go."

Reluctant to leave his truck and, above all, his lap, she mischievously fixed her gaze on him, a glint in her eyes, while he finished buttoning up her shirt. "Okay, raincheck?"

"You bet…" he sighed. After placing a light peck on his lips, she moved over to the passenger seat and opened the door, and he ran his hands on his t-shirt, trying to get rid of the wrinkles and to buy some time to pull himself together before hopping out of his truck.

As he returned from Midland and arrived in Dillon, Billy headed for the Taylor household instead of his own empty home. Tim would have been gone to San Antonio by then and María's last words at the airport were linging in his mind ("Bye, Billy. I love you. Talk to you later?"). Hearing her say that and, even more, realizing that she was willing to commit to a long distance relationship with him when she could have whoever she wanted, turned his world upside down forever.

As he had watched her leave for her gate in the middle of the airport, he had felt a lump in his throat and had promised himself to be a trustworthy person for her. In fact, there and then he knew he would not hesitate to do everything in his power to make María proud of him, whatever it took. In that regard, there were very few people he could think of to help him become a better man, and certainly Eric was one of them, besides Mac. He could still feel the touch of her hands on his skin and that gave him the courage he needed to face Coach Taylor. He had a request for him, and the sooner he did it, the better.

Not realising that it was late and he could be disturbing their family life on a school night, he rang the bell. Tami opened the door and smiled. If she was surprised to find Billy Riggins on their doorstep on a Sunday evening, she did not show it.

"Hi Billy, what's up?" she warmly greeted him.

"Good evening, Mrs. Taylor. Sorry to drop by unannounced, was wondering if I could have a quick word with Coach, please…" he politely said, slightly bowing his head.

"Sure thing, Billy," Tami said, smiling, fully opening the door to let him in. There was something sweet and moving about the way the Riggins brothers' good manners stood out if they were given the chance. Tami had never met their parents, and word on the street was that they had done a number on them, but their mother came always to her mind whenever she heard Billy or Tim addressing someone respectfully.

"Honey, Billy Riggins is here to see you…" her voiced echoed while she led Billy to the living room, where Eric was watching game tape on the couch, taking notes on a thick playbook. "Can I get you anything to drink, Billy?" Tami asked when they were close to the kitchen.

"No, thank you madam, I'm fine," he answered smiling. He then turned to Eric, who was looking at him frowning.

Suddenly becoming aware of the time and the fact that he was probably intruding their family life, Billy gulped and immediately apologised. "Hi Coach, I'm really sorry, I didn't realize it was so late… Was just wondering if I could please talk to you, won't be long…"

Eric's annoyance at Billy started to fade as he could see that he was concerned about something. He gestured for him to sit on the couch. As he did so, and with no further ado, Billy asked him if he could be his assistant with the East Dillon Lions.

Astonished to hear that, Eric looked at him questioningly and Billy felt the need to justify his request. He started elaborating as he nervously touched his State ring, rotating it on his finger. "You know I played this game a long time, it's practically in my blood, Coach," he said, a serious expression on his face.

He was right, he had played football for a long time and Eric was well aware he had been an outstanding player. Mac had always praised his game and also his role as team captain his junior and senior years in Dillon High. "Well, you know there's a big difference between coaching and playing…"

Billy scratched the back of his neck. He did not like where this conversation was headed. He sighed. "Can I be honest with you, Coach? I want this job real bad. And it's not just because of the football. Obviously that is a big part, but I respect you, sir. I respect what you stand for. And now teaching at the range and all, I just I think it'd be really good for me to be around somebody like you right now."

What could Eric say to that? He had always thought the Riggins boys were good people. A little misguided and with a terrible family situation, but definitely good people. He had faith in Tim, despite all his ups and downs, and he had no reason to believe that Billy was any different. He really wished he could help him, but he had to work on a very tight budget and a new assistant coach was unfortunately out of the question. "Damn it, listen I don't have many funds available…"

Billy raised his hands. This was not about the money. "All I'm asking for is a shot, Coach. I promise. I'm not doing it for the money, I´d volunteer, no problem."

Eric ran a hand through his thick hair. "Listen, I'll see what I can do, but I don't think…"

Desperate, Billy decided to go on, disclosing his real reason. "Thanks. The thing is… I don't know how to say this, Coach…"

"Well, just say it…" Eric growled. By then he was actually intrigued about the ultimate reason that had dragged Billy Riggins to his house on a Sunday evening with such a request.

Billy briefly looked around the room, like if he was looking for some kind of encouragement, and fixed his gaze back on Eric. "I'm in love with María McGill, Coach, and though I'm still surprised, she seems to feel the same way about me. I know, I know… kind of a miracle or something… Please keep it between us, it's new and I'd like to talk to Coach McGill first. Promise you we won't be sneaking around." He took a deep breath and carried on. "But as happy as I am, I know I need to become a better man for her. I'm not proud of the choices I made for a long time… And I just I think it'd be really good for me to be around somebody like you right now."

Eric just looked at him for a few seconds. Then, he nodded. "All right, can you start tomorrow four pm sharp? That means three fourty five."

"Of course, Coach, I'll be there, won't let you down." He would have to reschedule his work at the shop, but it was worth it. He was determined to work nights if he had to.

"Just one more thing." When Eric walked him to the door, he turned to face Bill, who looked at him intently. "Till you talk to Coach McGill, consider me not only your boss but also María's father. You treat her right. Understood?" he said glaring at Billy.

"Loud and clear, Coach. Thanks again. Have a good night," Billy managed to say, shaking Eric's hand.

Later that night the Taylors were cuddled on the couch watching television. A fussy Gracie had finally fallen asleep and they were enjoying some quiet time together. "Hon, what'd Billy Riggins want?" Tami suddenly asked out of the blue as she reached for her glass of wine.

Eric looked at Tami and then back to the screen. They were watching a show he particularly liked and he was not very happy about the interruption. "Assist me with the Lions. In fact, he's the new assistant coach, starting tomorrow."

"I thought you couldn´t afford any more staff…" his wife said, a confused look on her face while she took a sip.

"That's right, he's volunteering…" Eric nodded, his gaze still fixed on the screen.

"Didn't you have someone else on mind for that, hon?" Tami asked, placing her glass on the coffee table again and looking at him while doing so.

Eric sighed and turned off the television, diverting his full attention to his wife. "Yeah, but couldn't turn him down. Bottom line, he's just started seeing María McGill and wants to be a better man for her. How I could say no to that?"

"Oh, honey, that's so sweet…" she exclaimed.

Much to Eric's awe, Tami did not seem to be surprised at all at the thought of Billy and María together. "Aren't you surprised about it?" he enquired frowning. "Oh, you knew, didn't you?"

She nodded. "I did, María told me today after church. Oh, Eric, you should've seen her, she looked so happy…"

"Yeah, Billy too. They doing the long distance thing?" he asked, standing up from the couch and getting the wine bottle off the counter.

"I think they are…" Tami sighed while he poured her another glass of wine. "Thanks, hon."

"You think they have any chance?" he asked, gently rubbing his right eye socket once back on the couch. He was tired as he had been trying to decide on how to fit Billy into the Lions' coaching staff since he had left earlier.

"Don't know, Eric. Look at us, we had any chance?" Tami asked back.

He chuckled. "As great as you were, and still are, you weren't María McGill..." he said bringing her closer and kissing her forehead.

She laughed resting her head on his shoulder. "And you're gonna add that you're not Billy Riggins, either…"

"No, I mean no disrespect…" He tilted his head to look at her. "My point is, that girl's going places, Tami. Number one: she's got a good shot at best amateur player of the year, just on her freshman year. You know what that means? Number two: she's gonna start getting invitations for the LPGA long before finishing college, maybe even next year… Where does Billy Riggins fit in all that? I trust the Riggins, but Billy and María? Long distance? Forever? Come on, she's probably never coming back to live in Dillon, hope you didn't encourage her to..."

Tami sighed again. She should agree with Eric on that, their prospects were not good. "They're in love, Eric. As simple as that. They just got together on Thanksgiving. And I think it's been in the making for a while now…"

Eric was still shaking his head. "She's just eighteen, Tami. Just one year older than Julie… And he's what, twenty-four?"

"Twenty-six, actually…" she muttered.

He shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "That makes it even worse… Anyway, he wants to talk to Mac before going public... I have to give him that…"

"Oh, that's very thoughtful of him…"

"You're damn right it is," he agreed. "Just in case, I told him I'm María's father to him in the meanwhile. Think he got the message…"

"Honey!"

"What? We have two daughters, Tami. I like to think Mac'd do the same for Julie and Gracie, given the case."

Tami held his hand in his. "I know, and he would, no doubt. I really hope Billy and María make it work, don't you? They both deserve to be happy, but I guess you're right, won't be easy... Come on, let's go to bed, it's late."

While Eric and Tami Taylor were talking about them, Billy called María. She quickly flipped open her phone as soon as she saw the caller ID.

"Hey Billy," she happily answered, sitting on her bed and leaning her back on the small headboard.

"Hey M. How was your flight?"

"Good, and on time, for once. I'm tired though. How are you?" Foreseeing an early start at the gym the following day, she had intended to get some sleep on the plane. Yet her mind was spinning from their conversation, and she could still feel the effects of their interaction right before leaving his truck on her body. So any attempt to sleep or rest on board failed, and she was exhausted by the time she reached her dorm.

"Happy, you're talking to the new East Lions assistant coach! I went to see Coach Taylor when I left you at the airport and convinced him to give me a shot. Can you believe it?" He did not know how he had done it, but he had indeed, and he had been willing to share it with her since the minute he had peeled off the Taylors' driveway, too excited not to reflect it driving. "Something else I'll have to watch from now on," he thought to himself.

"Oh, that's great Billy, Congrats! I know you love football…"

"Yeah, but guess who I love most? You, M." He had been longing to say that to her again since the minute he had seen her off at the airport as he still regretted the way he had impulsively voiced it a few hours before.

"Billy, I …" She was going to say "I love you, too", but he was too eager to resume their conversation where they had left it. He felt it was extremely important to remind her that he loved her once she was back in college.

"No, listen to me, please M. I meant everything I told you today in Midland. I love you. And I know I haven't always made the best choices in life, but I promise that's gonna change. I really wanna become a better man for you, M…" he trailed off, doing his best to try and convey his feelings not sounding too corny.

She froze when she heard him say that. "Billy, I love you, too. And I love you flaws and all, and I hope you love me the same way, because I do have flaws, you know?" She was not comfortable at all with this new scenario, at least new for her, in which she was perfect and he was a hot-headed guy who did not measure up to everybody's standards and always made bad choices. And to her initial surprise that scenario seemed to be deeply rooted in Billy's mind.

"M, you're perfect to me…" he whispered on his phone.

"And you're perfect to me as you are Billy, so please stop worrying, okay?" she chimed in.

"Okay…" Billy said hesitantly, knowing that he was far from being perfect and fearing that María would notice it sooner or later. Among all his fears and uncertainties, disappointing María and thus hurting her was the worst and strongest.

"Did you know it's only twenty four days before before I come home for Christmas?" she asked trying to change the topic and making a quick mental note to keep a close eye on those feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth he obviously had.

"Who's counting, uh?" he chuckled.

"Yeah, can't wait to see you again, Billy."

"Me too." That reminded him of what he had told Eric. "Listen, M, please don't be mad at me, I told Coach Taylor about us, he's not saying anything until I tell your dad. And I told Timmy too, on Satuday night, I'm sorry but I couldn't keep it to myself…"

María smiled. "I'm not mad, Billy. I know what you mean. I'm glad you told Timmy. Tami knows too, I told her today after church. And she won't say anything either. I sought her advice on the double major, and I ended up talking about you…" She sighed. "Apparently I can't stop myself from doing that, I told Bradley too…"

"You did? How he reacted?" he asked, trying to make it sound casual. As much as he did not like to acknowledge it, the fact that Bradley and María shared a small dorm room worried him. He trusted María, but according to what she had told him during the weekend, Bradley's feelings for her seemed to be strong. Billy had been stunned to hear what Cole had told her that night he had noticed her sleeping with Billy's hoodie under her pillow. And before Thanksgiving María had written to him that she had been tempted to fall into Bradley's arms more than once when she had had a particularly bad day at school or at the range. Billy knew things had changed now, with them being together, but they would not be seeing each other in four weeks. She would be studying hard for finals and playing two important tournaments and he could not help but feel a pang of jealousy every time he pictured Bradley in María's day to day routine.

"Well, I guess, he had to leave, he was meeting someone, so I don't really know…"

"So you're alone in your dorm now…" Billy tried to push off any thought about Bradley by focusing on her.

"Yeah, I am," she confirmed, wondering what he meant by that statement.

"And wearing my hoodie by any chance?" he softly whispered.

"Yeap, I am. Just your hoodie, nothing else…" she chuckled. Now she knew what he meant.

"M, please don't say that…" he growled.

"It's the truth…" The soft tone in which she feigned innocence made him hold his phone tighter and close his eyes.

"I know, but you have no idea what you're doing to me right now…"

She chuckled again. "Believe me, I can imagine… You'd be surprised at the things that can be heard in a high school female soccer team locker room…"

"How come you never shared them with me?" His voice was now raspy and María was starting to feel goose bumps all over her body.

"You wish!... Billy?"

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After months fighting her feelings for Billy, she still could not believe he reciprocated them. She felt a pressing need to let him know that she had no doubts about them, no matter how far they lived or how different their current lives were. "I love you, and I can't wait to see you. I'm gonna study hard and give my best golf so we can spend as much time together as possible during breaks. And Bradley just offered to lend me his SUV in case we could meet halfway on a weekday. I really think we can make it."

"So do I, M,… Now get some sleep, will you?" His voice had quickly grown from raspy to moved after Maria's strong statement, and she immediately noticed it, her eyes welling.

"Will do, gym at 6 am! Talk to you tomorrow?" she managed to say hiding her own emotions.

"Sure thing, M. Good night."

"Night, Billy."


End file.
